Green Street Hooligans: What could have been
by signalfire263
Summary: Pete Dunham is the Major of the GSE and for him everything is pretty much set in stone. Or at least he thought it was until a chance encounter brought Allie Harding into his life and nothing, the GSE included was ever to be the same again. Pete/OC
1. Chapter 1

"**Alright, so you're actually telling me that if you had the chance, you wouldn't shag Kate Moss?" Keith asked, downing the dregs of his beer and reaching for another.**

"**Nah, mate, I'm telling you, birds like Kate Moss, are nothing but trouble, plus she's skin and bones, and no one wants to shag a skeleton." Ike answered seriously, a grin spreading across his face when Bovver spit out his beer, choking on his own laughter. **

**After a few moments of silence, Bovver turned to Ike with a devilish grin on his face.**

"**So you wouldn't? What are you, gay?"**

**Amidst all the laughter Pete made his way back down the carriage and sank into the seat next to Ike with a smirk on his face.**

"**You didn't find 'em then?" Keith asked, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his worn denim jacket, swearing at the empty pack before throwing it to the floor.**

"**Nah, stupid fuckers must have gotten on the train before this one," Pete shook his head and laughed mirthlessly. "At least they knew what was good for 'em."**

**Smiling at Bovver, his best mate since the age of 11, he turned to the rest of the boys.**

"**So what's this I hear about Ike being gay?"**

"**You've got to be shitting me," Allie Harding mumbled watching in horror as her phone blinked at her, once, twice, then died.**

**Cursing and throwing it back into her purse, she looked over at Will who was pacing the platform, and God forbid probably wearing a hole in his Armani loafers. Lara stirred on her lap and she pulled her friends hair out of her face, shaking her head at the utter ridiculousness of the situation.**

**Lara's birthday had been really good fun, they had been for dinner, hit some Soho bars and then gone clubbing; but the whole night, Will had sat there with a look on his face that told Allie he had wanted to be anywhere but there with her and their friends.**

**They had already argued before leaving her apartment and the fact that he then spent most of the night getting in as many digs as he could about "you and your friends" hadn't helped curb her temptation to push him into on-coming traffic.**

**They had only met 3 months ago, and already Allie found herself bored of the same old crap; Will was very much a founding member of the 'I've-got-my-head-up-my-own-arse society' and spent most of their first date telling her about all the companies that he and Daddy had managed to liquidate in the past 12 months.**

**Rolling her eyes at the memory, she was soon pulled out of her reverie as Will snapped his phone shut, stopped pacing and put his head in his hands.**

"**It could be worse," Lara hiccupped from her place lying on the bench with her head in Allie's lap. "At least we look good."**

"**I can't get hold of any taxi companies and we're stranded in bloody Brixton…tell me how it could get worse, please." Will snapped at her, from where he was staring at the train times on the cracked screen.**

"**Well, I could be a grumpy bastard who dresses like my Daddy and seems intent on ruining everyone's night…"**

**As Lara trailed off, Allie couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up in her throat and catching Will's look, she clapped her hand over her mouth like a child with her hand caught in the cookie jar.**

"**So you think this is funny, do you?" He snapped, crouching down so he was in her face. "Well let's see you laughing when we get fucking stabbed and mugged."**

**Rolling her eyes, Allie felt Lara giggle against her leg.**

"**Oh for fuck's sake Will, we're not going to get stabbed, we'll just get on the next train that pulls in."**

**Blinking, Will shook his head and laughed. "That's your plan? Just hop on the next train that pulls into the station?" Turning away from her, he put his hands behind his head and laughed mirthlessly, causing an echo through the empty station.**

"**Oh, come on Will, enough with the dramatics…we're all pissed and tired, but you're the only one who's being a prick so just…"**

**Snapping around to face her, Allie actually felt fear run through her at the look of pure anger on Will's face.**

"**I'm being a prick? I'm being a prick? Let's see, you get drunk, make a spectacle of yourself in that night club, and we've missed our train because we had to wait for her," he gestured to Lara who was too busy laughing at nothing to pay attention to him. "To finish vomiting her guts out in the street, so you tell me again who's being a prick, Allie."**

**With every word Allie became more and more grateful that Lara was leaning on her, because if she had been able to get up, she was certain that she would have pushed Will on to the tracks below without even a smidge of remorse.**

**Before she could answer a train pulled up to the platform, breaking the tension between them. Gently easing Lara into the sitting position, Allie grabbed her purse and pulled her friend to her feet.**

"**There we go," Allie told her pulling a twig out of her hair. Lara swayed on her feet a bit and offered her a drunken smile along with a "You're so pretty".**

**She turned towards the train, but Will grabbed her by the arm, hard.**

"**Where are you planning on going?" he asked loudly.**

"**Look, Will, if we get on this train, it's going to take us that little bit closer to home and then we can find a cab and we'll in bed in no time, alright?" Allie sighed, her attention shifting between Will's questioning look and keeping Lara on her feet.**

"**I ordered a taxi an hour ago…" Will glanced at his phone, swearing when he noticed the time. "It's fucking 2am and I've got a meeting at 9."**

"**And if we get on this train then you'll be in bed by 3," Will opened his mouth again to argue. "Please, Will, just help me out, please?" Allie hated pleading with him, he would get a smug look on his face that told her he had won, even when there was no fight.**

**Looking around the platform for an invisible solution, Will sighed heavily and threw his arms in the air.**

"**Fine, whatever, let's just get on the fucking train," He ordered pushing Allie forward towards the barrier. Shrugging off his touch, Allie stepped forward onto the train, just as Will spotted the cab pulling up outside the station.**

"**Allie, there's a cab!" He called, holding Lara up as he raised his hand to hail the cab. Pulling Lara towards the taxi, he opened the door and placed her in the backseat ignoring her complaint as she bumped her head against the door.**

"**Listen, can you give me one second, I just need to get my…our friend?" He asked the driver, before running off without waiting for a reply. Jogging towards the train, he watched as Allie stepped into the carriage and turned around to face him with a confused look on her face as the doors began to slide shut. Reaching out, Will prevented them from closing fully.**

"**Get off, we've got a cab." He told her, reaching for her hand; giving her an annoyed look when she visibly shrunk away from him.**

"**What do you mean, where's Lara?" She asked, glancing around him to where Lara was waving drunkenly from the cab window. Smiling at her friend, Allie turned her attention back to the impatient man in front of her.**

"**Are you getting off or not?" Will asked, anger evident in his voice as he shifted from foot to foot.**

"**Where's the cab going?" Allie asked cursing as the lights in the carriage blinked again. Will gave her a wilting look, before grabbing her purse out of her hand and walking off the train back onto the platform.**

"**What the hell do you think you're doing?" Allie demanded, following his retreating form as he marched towards where the cab was parked.**

"**Allie, we've got a cab, what does it matter where it's taking us?" He shouted at her, throwing his arms in the air.**

_**Fucking drama queen, **_**Allie thought with a giggle.**

"**How about because I live on the other side of town to you?" She answered, shrugging and noticing not for the first time in the last half hour the goose bumps running up and down her bare arms.**

"**I assumed that you would stay round my place…" Will told her with such certainty that it made her blood boil, and before she could stop herself she was shouting back at him.**

"**Well, what the hell makes you think that I want to stay with you?" She asked in exasperation; she couldn't work out whether the bloke was stupid or merely innocent to the hatred that she felt for him.**

"**After the way you've treated me tonight? Making snidely little remarks, giving me dirty looks, making comments about my friends…. do you honestly think that you can do that? Daddy might let you get away with that kind of shit, but I sure as hell won't."**

**With every word she said to him, Allie could see the anger seething out of him; she knew that she had pushed him a bit far, but she regretted nothing, everything that she had just told him had needed to be said.**

**Taking an involuntary step back, in fear of his reaction, Allie felt her breath catch in her throat.**

**Staring at her for an eternity, Will finally seemed to snap out of the shock that her speech had put him in, and glared at her.**

"**Fine," he spat, throwing her purse at her feet. "Stay here and rot, see if I care." And with that, he turned and walked back towards the taxi, before jumping in and slamming the door.**

**As Allie watched the cab disappear into the night, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She had put herself in this position, but this wasn't quite what she had been expecting; he'd left her on the platform of Brixton train station with £10, and not much else. Laughing bitterly to herself she noted that she would be lucky to make it home alive. But then wouldn't that be the ultimate punishment? She thought with another laugh.**

**She was pulled out of her reverie by the sound of the train pulling off its brakes; turning, she swore under her breath as she sprinted towards it managing to squeeze in between the doors before they shut completely. Glancing about the empty carriage, it occurred to her as the lights flickered again, that she was on her own, on a train in Brixton at 2am in the morning, looking like she'd just come from a party, and would therefore have money…in other words, she was a complete target for any chavs on the hunt for a quick buck.**

**Noticing the light pouring in from the next carriage along, she picked up her purse and pushed the button, causing the doors to swish open; the voices that had carried up through to the previous carriage stopped suddenly and she found herself under the scrutiny of the group of guys sat near the far end of the carriage.**

_**Shit, ok, stay calm, everything will be alright, she**_** told herself, sitting down on one of the worn chairs next to the scratched window.**

**i Just keep looking out the window and you'll be home safe and sound in no time and you can laugh about this in the morning i …**

**Feeling the draft blow through the compartment, she shivered wishing that she had remembered to bring a wrap or even Will's jacket. Her strapless black dress was pretty, but not ideal for November weather, especially when sat on a tube train at 2 in the morning. Rubbing her hands together, she pulled her phone out of her purse and noted the time.**

**2:09.**

**No missed call from Will saying he was sorry, or even, I hope you don't get killed on your way home. Nothing. Tossing it back into her bag, she let her head fall back against the headrest and glanced down at her phone again.**

**2:10.**

**It was going to be a bloody long ride home.**


	2. Chapter 2

"**Oh fuck off!" Ike burst out, shaking his head as the latest in a long line of gay jokes was thrown his way.**

**Amidst the banter, Bovver leaned across the table and nudged Pete who had his head resting on his arms.**

"**So they're definitely not on this one?" he asked in hushed tones.**

**Raising his head, Pete rubbed his eyes and leaned back against the chair with a smirk on his face.**

"**Nah, I checked every carriage and they're not on here; I'm telling you mate, these boys ain't stupid, they knew if we saw them again, it wouldn't be pretty." Crumpling an empty can of beer in his hands, Pete glanced out of the window as the train started to pull away from the platform. He was right, and Bovver knew it; the Liverpool boys were all talk, and when they knew that they were messing with Dunham and his boys, they, quite rightly, ran a mile.**

**The GSE's original reputation as one of London's leading firms was swiftly coming back and none of them were stupid, they knew it was down to Pete. He might only be 22, but Pete Dunham's reputation preceded him; even if most of it was down to who his Father and brother were. Both had been Majors of the GSE back in their respective days and Pete was fast following in their footsteps.**

**His baby blue eyes were a definite misconception of the man behind them; at 6"2 Pete was a pretty intimidating bloke, and having stepped in as the leader of the firm it was common knowledge that everyone wanted their turn at Dunham; although all of them usually regretted that decision. Years of athletic training meant that he was more than ready to fight if the occasion ever arose; and it had, more so lately. Now that the rumours had spread the GSE once they actually met the GSE. Green Street Elite wasn't just a name…it was a way of life. A way of life that Pete and his boys were swiftly bringing back.**

"**So, alright, if you wouldn't have Kate Moss…then-Fuck me!" Keith exclaimed staring over Ike's chair.**

"**Well cheers for the offer, mate, but I don't really go for that." Ike deadpanned as the other boys continued to laugh. Keith suddenly gestured behind Ike's head, shushing the conversation at the table.**

"**What's got his dandies in a twist?" Pete asked, following Keith's gaze.**

"**Oh, mate, what I wouldn't give…" Nad groaned from where he was leaning around Ike's chair to catch a glimpse at the girl who had just entered their carriage.**

**Pete turned to look and against his will, felt his breath catch in his throat; this girl was stunning. Her honey coloured hair was clipped up around her face, and the strapless black dress she was wearing showed off her perfect curves and slightly tanned skin.**

**Even from where he was sat, Pete could tell that she was cold, and wondered briefly what it would be like to run his hands over that skin, to warm her up.**

**Suddenly, she seemed to sense their presence in the carriage, her head shot up and her vivid green eyes met Pete's own blue ones briefly before she looked away and took a seat next to the window. Unable to tear his eyes away from her, even thought he was sure Bovver was saying something to him, Pete watched in amazement as she rested her head back, revealing the smooth skin of her neck, her tanned skin contrasting with the simple diamond necklace hanging around her neck.**

"**Pete, mate, are you fucking seeing what I'm seeing?" Bovver asked louder this time, as he grabbed Pete's arm roughly. Forcing his eyes away from the mystery girl and through to the next carriage, Pete saw Mikey Mullins, the leader of the Liverpool firm.**

"**Cheeky fuck," Pete mumbled under his breath as he watched Mikey and his boys enter the carriage; yelling loudly at each other and throwing beer cans to the floor.**

**The girl awoke from her daydream at the sound of the commotion, and Pete watched as the fear flashed across her face briefly before she diverted her eyes back down to her lap.**

**Watching the scene unfold for a few minutes, Pete watched as Mikey leant down to where the girl was and started to get in her face; as Mikey grabbed her arm, Pete felt the seat next to him shift suddenly and he realised that Ike had stood up.**

"**We on, boys?" Ike asked, glancing at Pete who had also stood up.**

"**Oh yeah," Pete answered with a smirk. "We're on."**

**Staring out at the blackness behind the window, Allie found herself feeling more awake; the anger coursing through her blood as she replayed the events on the platform in her mind was enough to break her out of her daydream. Shaking her head, she took a deep breath and willed herself not to cry or scream.**

**She wasn't angry because she loved Will, she was furious because she didn't; she could never love him, or anyone like him. Everything revolved around money, he didn't laugh at anything, he treated her like an idiot in front of his friends, and she had long since realised that to him, she was nothing but another way to please his parents.**

**Will's parents loved her so much it was sickening; but why wouldn't they? She was a university-educated daughter of a doctor and a lawyer who earned a modest £75,000 a year (in their eyes at least), and who would be a nice little addition to the Wilshire family.**

**Cringing inside at the thought of spending her life with those boring bastards, she glanced up once more at the guys at the end of the cabin and quickly looked away with a smile on her face when she caught all of them staring at her.**

_** i Men i , **_**she thought with a subtle roll of her eyes. She jumped when her phone suddenly began to vibrate in her lap and sighing squinted to see the caller's name.**

**Will calling.**

**Staring at the LCD screen for a few moments, she flipped the phone open and then promptly shut it again; wondering briefly for a moment if he was calling to check if she was ok, to apologise for being a bastard maybe, she realised she didn't care even if that was the case.**

**He's had more than enough chances, and in all honesty, she was being unfair to both of them by being with them.**

**There was nothing between them, no chemistry or spark; he was a savvy investor who wanted to get married, buy a house in Primrose Hill and pop out a few mini-Wilshire's by the age of 27.**

**Allie wanted nothing more than to see the world and do everything that she'd ever dreamed of; Will thought she was reckless and clueless, perhaps even a little bit childish, and she couldn't imagine spending the rest of her life with a guy that dismissed all her dreams in favour of his own. Where was the fun in that?**

**And the fact that she had met his parents 2 weeks into the relationship, and almost spit out her drink at the mention of marriage another 2 weeks into the relationship didn't help either.**

**Throwing the phone back in her purse, she turned around as the door opened behind her, loud voices carrying through it; a group of guys had come in, and there were more of them than there were of the others. Turning back around to face the window, she prayed that they would keep walking to the next carriage.**

"**Well, well," A man's voice came from up over her seat and she inwardly cringed. i **_**Shit i .**_

"**Alright, darlin'?" he asked, the drunken slur in his voice making his accent even more difficult to understand. "What's a pretty girl like you doing on a train on her own at this time of night?"**

**Feeling his breath on the back of her neck, she realised that he was right behind her and so stood up, laughing nervously.**

"**I, uh, missed the last train back home so had to jump on this one," she told him, not wanting to antagonise him by staying silent. Getting a good look at his face, she worried for a moment that she may have recoiled. A scar ran down past his left eye, and his blotchy red skin hinted that he drank regularly; dressed in a football shirt that even she managed to recognise as Liverpool, he and the rest of his mates had a good foot on her and she wrapped her hands around the phone in her purse as fear began to make itself known in her stomach.**

"**And where might home be?" he asked placing his arm on the hook above her head.**

**Meeting his eyes, with what she hoped was a 'fuck-you' stare; she tilted her head up and smiled.**

"**Sloane Square."**

**The boys all started whistling and laughing, moving closer to her as they apparently became more interested.**

"**A posh bird? Crikey, you're slumming it aren't you, jumping on a train with the likes of us," the man was getting closer and closer to her and she wasn't afraid to admit that it was making her more than a little uncomfortable. His breath reeked of beer, and she could tell that he wasn't exactly in control of his body movements as he stumbled slightly when the train changed tracks.**

"**I'm Mikey," he told her with a slimy grin, eyeing her up and down, causing goose bumps to break out over her skin. "What's your name?"**

**Clearing her throat and glancing out the window, she noted with relief that it wouldn't be long until they reached the next stop. Not caring that once again would she be nowhere near home, she made the decision that she was getting off.**

"**Allie." She answered quietly, quickly glancing down at her phone and cursing when she realised that she had no signal.**

"**Didn't catch that, did you boys?" he asked loudly, getting a chorus of undistinguishable noise from the guys behind him. "You might have to speak up a bit, sweetheart, we're never gonna be friends if we can't hear what you're saying."**

**Sighing angrily, Allie stared at him and pointedly raised her voice.**

"**My name is Allie." She told him, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot, hoping that he would get the hint and back off a little.**

"**Allie, is it?" he slurred smiling at his friends then turning back to her. "Well, Allie, how would you like to have a drink with me?"**

**Raising her eyebrows, she smiled tightly and sighed.**

"**I'm really sorry…Mikey, was it? I'm not a big drinker…" shrugging she began to move away from him, but he caught her arm, causing her eyes to widen in alarm.**

"**Oh come on, now there's no need to be rude, is there?" he asked squeezing her arm a bit.**

"**Can you let go of me?" she asked through gritted teeth as she became more and more aware that she was very much on her own in this fight. And these didn't look like the types of blokes that would give up easily. The train came to a stop and in pure panic she bolted for the door.**

"**Oi!" Mikey shouted at her, reaching for her arm once again. "Where you off to? I thought we were having a nice little conversation," he whispered running his hand down her arm.**

**Yanking it back towards her, she glared at him, adrenalin taking over the fear in her heart.**

"**Get the fuck off me," she threatened, her voice rising just loud enough to piss Mikey off. She winced as he twisted her arm and pushed her backwards into the wall.**

"**Now see, you had to go and hurt my feelings didn't you?" he asked her, lowering his voice, and his eyes, which made her skin crawl. Panicking she glanced around the train and noted with distain that the guys who had been occupying the end of the cabin were no longer anywhere to be seen. In other words, she was screwed.**

"**Look, just let me go, alright? This is my stop, all I want to do is get off and go home." Allie couldn't quite believe that she was pleading with this arsehole, but in the grand scheme of things she was more than aware that she didn't really have a choice.**

**Just as Mikey was about to reply, one of his friends stepped forward and pulled him by the arm.**

"**Mate, fucking Dunham's on the train," he said staring out of the window through to the other carriage. Allie allowed herself a glance in the same direction but couldn't see anyone; given the panic in the Mikey's face when this 'Dunham' bloke was mentioned she wasn't sure that she wanted to see this guy.**

**The door opened and the guys who had been behind Mikey visibly gulped and took a step back, throwing worried glances at each other.**

**A man stepped through the door, and Allie immediately recognised him as the guy from the end of the carriage before; from where she had been sat she could tell that he had been good looking, but up close he was gorgeous. His blue eyes seemed to pierce through her as he looked at her, flashing angrily as he noticed Mikey still had a hold of her arm.**

"**Now, maybe I'm just getting old," Pete, said, staring purposefully at Mikey as he made his way further into the carriage. "But did I not tell you to go home and stay out of my way? And see I get that you're a stupid fuck, but even dogs can handle basic commands, Mikey."**

**Against her will Allie felt a slight smile pulling at her lips with that last remark; looking over the man's shoulder she could see his friends, the ones that had been with him before. She briefly wondered where they had gone, and what had made them come back, but her attention was soon pulled back to the fight in front of her when she heard her name.**

"**It's alright Pete-y boy," Mikey told him with a mocking tone, giving him the same queasy smile he had given Allie earlier. "I was just having a little chat with my new friend, Allie here."**

**Smiling back at him, Pete laughed and turned to his friends, shaking his head in disbelief. Mikey Mullins had grown up with Pete and Bovver, but over the years their friendship had dissolved into a bitter hatred that was only made worse when each of them became the Majors of their respective firms. Mikey had always had a lot of bottle, but then in Pete's eyes that was just another term for complete and utter stupidity. Meeting the girl's eyes, Pete caught the fear in them and felt his anger level go up another notch.**

"**You ok?" he asked her. **

**Glancing at Mikey out of the corner of her eye, she returned her gaze to Pete and swallowed hard, shaking her head slightly so that he would not notice.**

"**She's fine," Mikey slurred slightly, pulling Allie tighter against him. "I'm taking care of her."**

"**Yeah, we noticed that," Pete answered, leaning in a little to get into Mikey's face. "And I think now would be a good time to let go of her, don't you?"**

**Pete gestured to Mikey's hand, which was still wrapped securely around Allie's freezing cold arm; shockingly, Allie immediately felt Mikey ease his grip slightly, but he still didn't let go of her.**

**Squinting and pursing his lips, Pete leaned forward even more and lowered his voice.**

"**Alright, let me rephrase that for you," Pete shoved Mikey forcefully into the pole behind him. "Either let take your arm off her, or I'll rip it off, it's that simple."**

"**Get your own pink Dunham," Mikey sneered, pulling Allie more towards him and running a finger across her neck. "This one's mine."**

**Before she even understood what she was doing, Allie dug her elbow into Mikey's ribs as hard as she could and jerked away from him, anger flashing in her eyes. She knew there was a good chance that they would kill her without a second thought, but she's be damned if she was going out without a fight.**

"**Get the fuck off me!" she screamed, pushing him backward.**

**Just as the words left her mouth, Mikey raised his hand and she froze in place; but the hit never came. Instead she watched as Pete's fist connected with Mikey's jaw sending him sprawling to the floor, blood oozing from his lip. And that was when the madness began, punches were being thrown, language that she'd never heard outside of a Quentin Tarrantino movie echoing throughout the carriage, mixing with the blood and spilt beer on the floor.**

**Not knowing what to do, she tried to run for the door, but Pete caught her wrist and looked her straight in the eye with such honesty that she didn't pull away.**

"**If you walk out that door, they'll wait for you," he told her, glancing behind him as Bovver pushed one of Mikey's boys into the other carriage before slamming Mikey's own head into the fire hatch. "These blokes are animals, I know you've got no reason to but, trust me, you'll be a hell of a lot safer if you stick with us."**

**And with that, he ran back into the ruckus in the door way leaving Allie confused as hell; but something told her that he was right, so she did the only thing she could, she sank down in one of the chairs out of the way, and furiously wiped at her eyes as she felt the sting of tears.**

**It was too late and too much had happened, and now she was in the middle of some bloody west side story fight between two gangs on a train. Searching through her purse for her phone, she glanced at the green glowing clock on the front.**

**2:23**

**Wincing at the brutal noises coming from behind her chair, she almost laughed as she considered how much could change in just 13 minutes.**

**Dodging another one of Mikey's punches, Pete kept his former friends pinned to the floor, and twisted his wrist behind his back, provoking a shout of pain.**

**Laughing up at Pete through the pain, Mikey gave him a bloody grin, staring at him with maddened eyes.**

"**If you'd wanted her that much you just should've said, Dunham," Mikey half laughed, half coughed. "We used to be mates, I would have passed her on once I was done."**

**Frowning, Pete pulled his fist back and slammed it into Mikey's face twice, revelling in the pain that shot through his hand.**

"**You're a sick fuck, do you know that?" Pete hissed at him through gritted teeth, getting up began to move towards Bovver when Mikey shot his foot out and brought him crashing to the floor. Shouting as his head hit the floor, Pete turned over and kicked Mikey in the face, hard enough to send his sprawling backwards with blood pouring from his nose. Standing over him with his foot on his chest, Pete started down at him, blinking as blood dripped into his eye.**

"**Well, how fucking stupid do you feel now?" Pete asked with a laugh. "You ever try that again, or bother her again," he lowered his voice and gestured behind him where Allie was still sat. "And I will kick the shit out of you, do you understand me?"**

**Pete turned to Bovver who clapped him over the shoulder with a grin as Keith emerged from the floor wiping the blood of his chin.**

"**Pete-y Dunham, such a big man, trying to be the Major and yet you won't even finish a fight," Mikey laughed and spat at Pete and the boys.**

**Walking back over to Mikey with not so much as a glint of anger in his eyes, only humour, Pete leant over his battered form and sighed.**

"**Do you know what mate? You're not worth the energy it would take to finish you off. Go home to Mummy and tell her what a brave boy you were. But if you ever come near me or my boys again, it might well just be the last thing you do." Pete patted Mikey on the cheek and stood up straight, turning to Bovver and the others and shrugging his shoulders, they made their way back towards the carriage entrance.**

**Glancing at the empty chair, Pete caught the flash of blonde hair as Allie disappeared out the train doors, walking quickly across the platform. Swearing under his breath, Pete jogged down the carriage with the rest of the boys right behind him, and caught the doors just before the closed again.**

**Stepping out onto the platform, the November air bit at his skin, and he wondered how cold she must be in her dress if he was freezing and wearing a jumper.**

"**Hey! What are you doing?" He called to Allie, but she kept walking, rifling through her bag for her phone. She needed to get a cab now before anything else kicked off; Jesus, all she had wanted was a night out to celebrate her friends birthday, and she'd ended up stranded and in the middle of some bloody gang war.**

**Hurrying up the stairs she shivered as a cold wind blew down the platform from the street above and guiltily thought about how much she wished she hadn't offered her jacket to Lara. She could hear footsteps behind her and she knew all too well that it was them. **_**Him.**_

**In the back of her mind she supposed that she owed them an apology, but whatever they were involved in, she didn't want to be a part of.**

"**Christ, will you just wait!"**

**Turning to face them where they stood on the bottom on the stairs, she threw her arms in the air and laughed.**

"**Why?" she asked in exasperation. "What are you going to do? Beat me up as well?" she could tell from the expression on his face that he had not expected that, but instead of yelling back at her like Will would have, she caught the first hint of a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.**

"**Actually I was just going to make sure you're alright," he told her, shoving his hands in his pockets, and shifting from foot to foot. It was fucking freezing out here, he thought. "Look, I'm sorry about all that back there, but I've gotta ask, what the fuck is a girl like you doing on the Brixton line on her own at 2 in the morning?"**

**Sighing, she shrugged her shoulders and shook her head, suddenly remembering how far she was from home and what a long night it had really been.**

"**I just…" she trailed off and looked around, then caught his gaze and saw him raise his eye brows. "I missed my last train home, alright? And the people I was with decided to get a cab and leave me here, so I thought, fuck it I'll get on the next train that pulls in, because, you know, what's the worst that could happen?"**

**Laughing softly, she caught his eye again, and pursed her lips she looked at him in earnest for a second, and Pete watched as she absent-mindedly tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. **

"**Thank you; that bloke back there…I mean I don't know what he would have done if…" trailing off, she looked down at her feet for a minute, suddenly aware of all the eyes on her. Taking a minute, she glanced back up at them with a smile on her face.**

"**So what are you, some Ninja vigilante or something?"**

**Laughter rippled through the group and Pete scratched his eyebrow where he could feel a scab forming over the cut Mikey had given him.**

"**Not exactly," he answered, smiling at Ike who was nursing his hand having shut it in a door during the fight. "This pansy over here is Ike, that's Keith, Ned, Swill, Dave, the miserable looking bastard over in the corner is Bovver and I'm Pete D…"**

"**Dunham, yeah I know, they were talking about you before you showed up," Allie took a few steps down until she was only 2 steps above Pete, close enough to get a good look at him, at least. "They were pretty much shitting it at the very mention of you, so I was a little surprised when you finally appeared."**

**Raising an eyebrow, Pete grinned at her; she really was stunning, not like most of the girls Pete knew, who paraded themselves around just to get attention. No, all this girl had to do was smile and you couldn't look away.**

"**And why's that?" he asked, suddenly aware that he could smell her from where she was stood, and it wasn't exactly making concentrating any easier.**

"**Well, you're a little bit scrawny," She winced, gesturing to his arms, and causing the boys to roar with laughter. With his tongue in his cheek, Pete nodded and placed a hand on his heart, in pretend heartbreak.**

"**Alright, alright, all jokes aside, what's your name?" he asked her, annoyed over how much the sound of her giggle affected him. A lot more than he wanted it to, that was for sure. Girls did not get to Pete Dunham, not like this anyway.**

**Taking another step down, she smiled at him and held out her hand.**

"**I guess I owe you that much, don't I?" she asked. "It's Allie. Allie Harding."**

**Taking her hand and shaking it, Pete tried not to focus on how soft her skin felt or wonder whether the rest of it was just as soft. Releasing her hand, she shivered slightly and smiled at him again.**

"**I should really get going," she told them apologetically. "I don't have a clue where I am, and I've somehow got to go outside and find a way home." Looking at Pete more than any of the others, she added softly, "It was good to meet you guys, thanks again."**

**As she turned to walk up the stairs, one of the guys, Dave, walked in front of her and gave her a wide smile.**

"**Now, what kind of gentlemen would we be if we just let you walk out of here on your own?" he asked, shaking his head and holding out his hand. "The least we can do is make sure you get a cab, ok?"**

**Allie laughed, glancing at Dave's offered hand and glancing around, she shrugged. They seemed like good guys, and she really didn't want to walk around outside on her own; sighing, she took his hand and laughed when he grinned at her.**

"**To the taxi rank, right?" she asked, frowning in false hesitation.**

**Ike crossed his fingers over his heart and kissed them.**

"**On Jose Mourinho's life," he told her with an earnest expression on his face. Allie gave Pete a confused look over her shoulder and he shook his head in reply, mouthing, 'just nod'.**

**Smiling back at him, she found herself being dragged out of the train station by Dave who then began scouting for cabs in the long road.**

**Allie winced as though in pain as the cold hit her skin, and after a moment, she felt something slip around her shoulders; turning, she saw that Pete had given her his jacket, she smiled, but proceeded to take it off when he stopped her with a hand on her bare shoulder.**

**Both of them stopped and caught each other's gaze, neither wanting nor willing to look away.**

"**You need it more than I do apparently," he told her, gesturing to the goose bumps breaking out over her arms. "I'll be fine." He told her with a grin that on anyone else may have looked arrogant, but on him, it just looked damn sexy.**

**Trying to suppress her own smile, she pulled the jacket further over her shoulders and noted that it smelt like him.**

**Almost laughing out loud she wondered what was wrong with her? **

** i **_**You've been going out with Will for 3 months up until today and you don't know him from Adam, but you meet this guy, and after all of 15 minutes, you know his smell? i **_

**Glancing over at where Pete was stood with Allie, Bovver started to get impatient; it was too cold to be stood out here waiting for some random bird to find a taxi, no matter how fit she was. They could all do with a beer and a couple of bandages after the fight. Stubbing out his cigarette with his foot, Bovver made his way over Pete and grasped his shoulder.**

"**Mate, what do you say, we go and have some drinks?" he asked, his breath making itself known in the air. "It's brass monkey's out here, and after that I think we could all use a beer, don't you?"**

"**Who said beer?" Swill inquired from where he was propped up against a lamppost, nursing his cut lip and swollen cheek. Before Pete could answer, a Mercedes pulled up to curb and a tired looking man in an Armani tux slammed out the door and marched angrily to where they were stood.**

"**Oh, fuck," Allie muttered under her breath.**

**In the background she was mildly aware of Bovver whispering, "Who's this cunt?"**

**Shooting what he hoped was a threatening glance at the obviously drunk guy ogling his car; he walked straight up to Allie with a grim expression on his face. Stopping just in front of her, he shook his head and blew the air out of his lungs.**

"**I went back to the station about 5 minutes ago, and you weren't there," he told her in an eerily calm voice. "I didn't know if you'd been raped, or kidnapped or fucking murdered!" His voice began to rise and Allie braced herself for the onslaught.**

"**I mean how fucking stupid are you? Who the fuck is this bloke?" he asked, eyeing up Pete. "You don't know these people, fuck knows what they would have done to you if I hadn't showed up!"**

**Will was practically screaming at her now, and Pete clenched his fists behind his back; if he had to bet he would say that this arsehole was her boyfriend, or maybe her brother, either way if he kept screaming in her face, Pete looked the guy up and down and concluded with a laugh that it would probably only take one punch to knock him on his arse.**

**Pete was pulled out of his trance when he heard Allie laugh.**

"**Oh, yeah, you're a real hero aren't you?" she asked in disgust. Who the hell did he think he was just turning up and screaming at her? He was the one that had left her on the bloody platform in the first place, if it hadn't been for him, and then none of this would have happened. Feeling the heat emitting from Pete's body behind her, her brain struggled to decide whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.**

"**These 'people'," she snapped, stepping forward so that she was more or less toe-to-toe with him. "Who do actually have names if you weren't such a rude son of a bitch and had bothered to ask, actually helped me out; because when some fucking creep was trying to cop a good feel on the train, they were there to step in, not you."**

"**Well whose bloody fault is that?" he asked her with a bitter laugh. "That's your problem, Allie, you never do as you're told and then you wonder why it all falls to shit!"**

"_**Do as I'm told?" **_**She shook her head with a bitter laugh. "You arrogant fuck, who the hell do you think you are?"**

**Tilting her chin up with his fingers, Will leant in and looked her in the eye.**

"**Look, I came back for you, isn't that enough?"**

**Staring at him in disbelief for a second, Allie batted his hand away from her face and took a step back. She honestly did not know whether to laugh or cry, '**_**you never do as you're told'. **_**What was she, his dog?**

"**Allie, just get in the car will you?" he asked, reaching for her hand. She pulled away from him, but he reached for her again, roughly this time and snagged her hand in his, yanking her forcefully towards him.**

"**I said get in the fucking car!" he shouted in her face, and she closed her eyes, grimacing at the little drops of spittle that shot from his mouth.**

"**I think you'd better calm down, son. Don't you?" Bovver asked, stepping in between the pair and gently pushing Allie back towards Pete. "See, I think your friend has been through enough for tonight and she don't need some little shit wearing Daddy's clothes turning up and screaming in her face." Stepping in so he was right in Will's face, Bovver lowered his voice. "So why don't you behave like a gentleman, and talk nice and slow."**

**Snarling, Will pushed Bovver to one side and glanced at him dismissively. "You think I'm afraid of some council estate junky?" he snorted. "Go happy slap someone else, because we're leaving."**

"**Oh for God's sake, Will…"Allie began, but he turned to her with more anger in his eyes than she could ever remember seeing before.**

"**I told you to shut the fuck up!" he screamed at her, what little patience he had left finally snapping as he grabbed her and pushed her forward into the side of the car. Suddenly, all the boys were on guard again, Pete stepped forward shooting Bovver a grateful look for stepping in before walking over to Will.**

"**Now, here's how the next 5 minutes can go down," he said calmly rubbing his chin. "You can either apologise to all of us for the verbal abuse, and for slamming your girlfriend into a car, and we can accept graciously and you can be on your way. Or you can keep on throwing a tantrum like the little bitch you are, and you can find out how quickly it takes us to beat you senseless." Throwing Will a smile and leaning even closer, the met the other man's eyes and quite rightly read the fear within them. "So what are you gonna do?"**

**Looking anywhere but at Pete, Will turned to Allie and gently opened the car door. "Come on," he told her softly. "I'll take you home, I'm not going to let you get a cab back to Sloane by yourself."**

"**It's alright, mate, we'll go with her!" Swill called, causing everyone but Will to crack a smile. Glancing up at Will's face, she saw what anyone else would have mistaken as genuine remorse; she knew it better as fear. Sighing, she knew that she had no other alternative and so turned to Pete and began to remove the jacket.**

"**Nah," he told her, placing it gently back over her shoulders with that same smile from earlier; the one that made her wonder what it would be like to kiss him, the one that she had never seen on any other man.**

"**Keep it," he took her hand and shook it once more, leaning forward slightly. "It looks better on you, anyway."**

**Meeting his eyes with a small laugh, she realised with some concern in that second that she didn't want to leave. It didn't take a genius to work out that she was attracted to the guy, he was gorgeous, but there was something else about him. Something that made her wish Will had not shown up, and that scared her.**

"**Thank you." She told him softly, noting that they hadn't let go of each other's hand; when he finally released hers, she felt cold again. Looking at the rest of the guys, she smiled at them and raised her hand in a small wave as she made her way into the car.**

"**Thanks, guys, it's been an…interesting night," she told them with a grin.**

"**Does that mean I can have your number?" Swill asked stretching his arms to display his imaginary muscles. Pete laughed and shook his head at Bovver, who rolled his eyes.**

**Closing the car door, Allie stared out at the guys as Will jumped in and started the engine; laughing as Ike and Swill made the 'call me' sign with their hands, she caught Pete's gaze once more and he nodded at her with a smile that made butterflies appear in her stomach. What am I, 12? She thought with a laugh.**

**But as the car pulled away from the curb, she glanced at Will who was gripping the wheel so tightly his knuckles had turned white, and leaning her head against the cool glass, she wished for the second time that night in the empty silence of the car that he had never shown up.**


	3. Chapter 3

"**Best two out of three?" Ike asked with a hopeful smile as Pete pocketed the final ball on the table; grinning and taking another sip of his beer, Pete shook his head.**

"**Pay up you tart," he ordered with a laugh as Ike reluctantly handed him a crumpled £5 note. It was a Saturday evening and The Rogue pub was pretty quiet for once, so the boys had taken it upon themselves to start a pool tournament; in other words screwing Ike and Swill out of their money.**

"**Have you seen this?" Bovver approached the table, newspaper in hand, with disgust written all over his face. Throwing it down onto the pool table, Pete bent his head to read the headline.**

'** i **_**FOOTBALL HOLLIGANS ATTACK ON TUBE TRAIN i '**_

"**Are you shitting me?" Pete asked in disbelief. Newspapers were constantly on their backs about this type of stuff, it was never really clear how it got reported, but somehow it always ended up on the front page.**

"**Hammers won 3-1 that night, and some bitch fight on the underground makes the headlines?" snorting in disgust, Pete moved around the table and began setting up the balls for another game.**

"**Hey, Pete," Georgie smiled as she walked past the table. Georgie was Ike's brother's ex-girlfriend, she was known to them by default only. None of the boys liked her, but from day one she had her sights set on Pete, and it was getting pretty old; and after almost a year of trying to let her down softly, Pete had simply resigned himself to straight forward ignoring her whenever she was near him.**

**Shaking his head as he placed another round of beers of the table next to them, Bovver took a drag of his cigarette and gestured to where Georgie was now sat watching Pete like he was her next meal.**

"**She still making a play for you?" He asked with disbelief.**

"**Why, you jealous Bov?" Terry, the barman and Pete's brother's best mate called from behind the bar with a laugh.**

"**Oh fuck off," Bovver shot back, grabbing a pool queue and making the first shot, smirking when he hit the 8.**

"**Doesn't matter anyway," Ike commented, clapping Pete on the back. "Our boy's still pinning for the Sloane Square bird."**

**The boys laughed as Pete shrugged off Ike's hand and shook his head; it was true though, ever since that night, he's been unable to get Allie out of his head not matter how hard he tried. Every time he closed his eyes at night all he could think about what how soft her skin looked, how she smelt, the way her eyes lit up when she smiled at him. It was fucking pathetic, but there was nothing he could do about it.**

"**Sorry, Dunham," Ike told him placing his hand on his heart and wiping away an imaginary tear. "But blokes like us, don't get birds like that."**

"**I wouldn't speak too soon, if I were you mate," Keith laughed, jerking his chin in the direction on the door. Turning to see what he was looking at, Pete felt the air rush out of his lungs as a chorus of "You've go to be having a laugh's" and "No fucking way's" rang out from the boys.**

**Over the other side of the bar, Allie felt like she was in one of those Western's her Dad used to make her watch; the one where the stranger walks into the bar and everyone goes silent. Great. Fan fucking tastic.**

**Scouring the bar, she couldn't see any of the faces from that night, and shifting from foot to foot, she debated simply running back out the door.**

"**You alright there, love?" the man behind the bar asked with a smile that told her he could see how nervous she was.**

**Shaking her head as if to wake herself up, she smiled back and walked over to the bar, leaning on the polished wooden surface.**

"**Hopefully, yeah," she glanced beside her and offered the toothless old man who was quite clearly staring at her arse a smile. "I'm looking for Pete Dunham, I thought he might be here."**

**Terry laughed and shook his head; the girl seemed sweet enough, but girls like her were not a regular occurrence around here. Taking in her hipster jeans, soft grey shimmering top and silver ballet pumps, the girl looked like she's stepped off a designer billboard without even trying. Dunham's a lucky bastard, Terry thought with a laugh.**

"**I think you're in luck," he leant forward and pointed around the corner. "He's round there with his girls playing pool…"**

**Frowning slightly, Allie bit her lip nervously. "If he's busy, would you mind just giving him back his jacket for me?"**

**Gently pushing her away from the bar, Terry gave her a reassuring smile. "Sweetheart, I honestly don't think he'd mind if walked round the corner and hit him with a hammer, go on, I'll bring you lot over some drinks."**

**Before she could respond, Terry leant over the bar and whistled.**

"**Dunham, you've got a guest!"**

**Raising her eyebrows and laughing in embarrassment, Allie wrinkled her nose and smiled, "Thanks" at Terry who looked pretty pleased with himself.**

**Walking around the corner cautiously, Allie was met with five pairs of rather curious eyes as she stood there for a second, not knowing what to do or say; suddenly she broke out of her reverie, and held up the jacket before placing it on the table.**

**Trying to suppress his grin, Pete looked from the jacket to her and nodded. "I'm impressed," he told her.**

**Eyes widening, she raised her eyebrows and laughed. "You bloody well better be," she told him with a smirk. "You're a difficult bloke to track down."**

**Leaning on the table, Pete licked his lips and cocked his head at her; taking the opportunity to get a proper look at her. Without the grimy fluorescent lights of the underground, her skin seemed to glow more, and her eyes were greener than he remembered, but drifting a little lower her body was just as he remembered, and his eyes lingered on the tiny bit of stomach peeking out from underneath her tight t-shirt.**

**Quickly meeting her eyes again, he took another quick sip of beer.**

"**So how'd you manage it then?" he asked.**

**Hopping on the stool, Allie crossed her legs and picked up one of the beer bottle lids, turning it over in her fingers.**

"**Well, you left these in the pocket," she pulled a set of keys out her pocket and placed them on the table; Pete recognised them immediately as his work keys. "So I called the number on the label and they gave me your address, but when I got to your place, you were out and one of your neighbours told me that you'd probably be here, so," she flicked the bottle lid onto the table. "Here I Am." She said with a shrug.**

**Blinking at her, Pete laughed and rubbed his chin.**

"**Christ, you one of Charlie's Angels or something?" she laughed and raised an eyebrow at him.**

"**Not quite…I mean I could have just left it outside your door…"**

"**But where's the fun in that?" Pete finished for her, earning him another smile, before she glanced away, blushing slightly.**

"**Yeah, well," she said nervously, rubbing her palms on the legs of her jeans before hopping off of the stool and putting her hands in her back pockets. "I just wanted to say thanks again, and give you your jacket back."**

**Suddenly feeling quite nervous under his gaze, she waved at the other guys and turned to leave, but Pete's voice interrupted her.**

"**Hold on," she could hear the smile in his voice. "You can't come all this way just to give me my jacket back…the least you can do is stay for a game of pool." He said holding out a queue to her.**

**Laughing, she cocked her head and hesitated.**

"**Come on, you can double up with Dave, he's shit,"**

"**It's true." Dave piped up from where he was munching his way through a bag of peanuts. Glancing at Pete, then at the rest of the boys, who started calling to her. "Come on…. you know you want to…"**

"**Alright!" she laughed. "Alright, I'm in…one game, ok?" she told Pete taking the queue from him and moving around the table to stand next to Dave who slung his arm around her shoulder.**

"**Just don't pot the black, and we'll be alright." He told her scrunching up the now empty bag of nuts and tossing them onto the table.**

**Looking up at him in confusion, Allie frowned.**

"**Why? Is the black ball bad or something?" she asked.**

**They group stood there in silence for a few moments, before Bovver tossed a £20 note onto the table.**

"**I'm in for £20"**

"**Yeah, me too."**

"**Good luck, Dave." Pete told his friend with a laugh. Grabbing his queue, he bent down to take his shot and winked at Allie.**

"**Let's play."**

"**She's a fucking shark!" Swill laughed as he watched Dave shake his head in disbelief as Allie potted the last ball on the table effortlessly and grabbed the wad of money from Pete who stood next to Bovver with his head in his hands.**

"**Hey, I never said I couldn't play," she corrected him with a smile. "You lot just assumed." Picking up her bottle of beer she took another sip and laughed when Dave hugged her.**

"**I can't believe I won!" Dave exclaimed, waving the money in front of Bovver's face.**

"**You didn't win shit," Bovver told him, pushing his hand out of the way in annoyance. "She did it for you."**

"**Don't matter," Dave said winking at Allie who winked back. "I still fucking won! Next round's on me!" he told them all with a smile. Making his way over to the bar, he stopped to kiss Allie on the head and shout, "You beauty!" before dancing his way over to where Terry stood shaking his head.**

**Still laughing, Allie finished off her beer, placing it down on the table as Pete passed his queue to Swill who was already lining up the balls for the next game. The buzz of the alcohol felt pleasant as it coursed through her blood and she realised that this was the first time in a long time that she had just let herself have fun without worrying about what everyone else was doing or thinking. How was it that she could feel more at ease with a group of people she'd only known for a few hours than with some of her friends who she's known for years? She wondered.**

**Leaning back against the table, she watched as Pete strolled carelessly over to her, leaning next to her, so close that their arms brushed against each other, sending a shiver straight though her.**

**Turning his head to face her, Pete caught the small smile playing on her lips and took a sip of his beer.**

"**You're alone today," he told her, causing her to glance curiously at him. "The bloke you were with that night seemed, pretty…well, he was a bit of a wanker." Pete said, making them both laugh. "Does he know that you're here?" **

**Smiling to herself, Allie looked down at her shoes and then back up, staring straight ahead to where Dave, Ike, Keith and Bovver were tossing a coin to see who would play first. She and Will had been over before they had begun, and that night at the train station had confirmed what they had both known to be true anyway; they were completely and utterly wrong for each other.**

**Will needed someone who would slot nicely into the role of the 1950's housewife his parents had promised him since he could walk; someone who would cook his dinner, clean his London mansion and have his kids. Allie on the other hand needed someone who would challenge her, push her, love her, and above all, appreciate her and not treat her like a child; someone who would make her laugh without trying, who would ask her how her day was without hidden agenda, or simply out of routine. Someone who made her feel alive.**

**Glancing at Pete, she saw him staring at her expectantly and she realised with embarrassment that she'd been so involved in her inner monologue that she'd forgotten he had asked her a question.**

"**Yeah, we're uh, we're not together anymore." She told him, causing him to raise his eyebrow. "Not that we ever really were," she corrected herself quickly and sighed. "I wasn't what he wanted, and he sure as hell wasn't what I wanted, so what's the point in carrying on and pretending that everything is fine?"**

"**So, what do you want?" Pete asked her, locking his eyes onto hers and causing her heart rate to speed up rapidly. Great, she thought, just great, trust me to get a fucking schoolgirl crush on a bloke that I watched beat the crap out of someone on the underground not even two weeks ago.**

**Before she could answer him, Swill approached them and handing them both a fresh bottle of beer, shook his head and pointed at Allie.**

"**We're playing again, but this time you're on your own," he told her with a schoolboy grin. "We haven't all got 20 quid to throw away, you know. You're up first,"**

**Taking the queue from him, Allie picked up a piece of chalk and began dusting the end. **

"**Ok," she said, leaning against the queue and placing her beer down on the side of the table. "If you don't want to play for money, I tell you what," pausing for a second, she took a deep breath and waved one of her hands in the air. "If I win this time, which face it, I will because you're all shit at this game," Pete laughed whilst Bovver and the other boys glared at her and whistled, pretending to have been offended. "All you have to do is buy me a drink, How's that?" she asked, glancing from face to face. Everyone nodded and she lined up her shot, but Ike's voice interrupted her.**

"**Hold on a minute," he pointed at her with his beer and smiled. "What happens if by some miracle, **_**we **_**win?" he asked her.**

"**If we win, she's got to give me her phone number," Bovver piped up from his place perched on the nearest bar stool, still examining the newspaper from earlier. Pete's head shot up and jerked in Bovver's direction; ok, so he hadn't actually said anything, but they were making jokes about it earlier and he knew that it didn't take a genius to work out that he liked Allie.**

**Laughing, Allie raised an eyebrow at Bovver and felt slightly uncomfortable; it wasn't that she didn't like Bov, it was just that while the other guys were open and easy to read, there was something about Bovver that made Allie wary of him, something almost intimidating.**

"_**You **_**want my number?" she asked in askance.**

"**Yeah," Bovver answered not even bothering to look up from the paper. "Well, we've been here for four hours and Dunham still hasn't found his plums and asked for it himself and if no one else does it for him, we're gonna have to watch him walk around for another week with a face like a slapped arse while he pines over you." Bovver finally looked up at her, and catching her stare of surprise and Pete's of embarrassment and disbelief, he grinned. "And we don't want that, do we boys?"**

"**Nah," Ike, Keith and Swill all answered, trying their best not to laugh as Pete rubbed his face with his hands, before mouthing 'fuck you' to Bovver over Allie's shoulder.**

**Shrugging, Allie picked up her queue once again and got into position to take her shot. Trying not to smile, she suddenly felt a lot better for knowing that that fact she hadn't been able to get Pete out of her head for the past two weeks wasn't as stupid as she had thought.**

**It wasn't everyday you just met someone who you immediately had a connection with, and even though she couldn't put her hand on her heart and say that she knew Pete well, she felt something when she was around him, something she'd never felt before with anyone else, and it was scaring the hell out of her.**

"**Alright, fine." She said simply, pulling back her queue and making the first break. Straight away, she pocketed two balls and she turned back to Pete with a smile, stretching out the queue to him and cocking her head. "You're up." She told him.**

**Taking the queue from her, Pete fought the urge to shake his head; this girl was confusing as hell; she'd more or less agreed to give him her phone number if she lost indicating that at some point she wanted him to use it, but at the same time she wasn't giving off any other signals.**

**Yeah, he thought with a laugh, aside from flirting with you for the past few hours.**

**Taking his shot, he found himself concentrating harder than he ever had before on a game of pool, but looking up briefly and catching Allie looking at him, he remembered how much was riding on it and taking a deep breath, he pulled back and shot.**

"**You've got to be shitting me!" Ike laughed, putting his head against the pool table watching as Allie potted the last ball. Again.**

"**I've never seen anyone win four games in a row," he frowned at her and narrowed his eyes. "I wanna accuse you of cheating, but how the fuck does someone cheat at pool?"**

**Hanging her queue back up on the wall, Allie shrugged her shoulders and grinned.**

"**It's not cheating," she told him, shaking her head. "It's the result of having two older brothers and not being able to make friends with girls when I was a kid." It was true, she'd spend more time with her brothers and their friends than she ever had with any of her girlfriends, and being sent to an all girls school when every girl you met seemed to automatically hate you by default didn't make for the easiest childhood.**

**Her parents were good people, but had been so intent on trying to save the world one case at a time that she and her brothers had been left to amuse themselves in their huge family home most of the time.**

"**So we owe you a drink, apparently," Pete offered, not wanting to come out and ask her for her number now, not after Bovver's embarrassing outburst earlier.**

**Glancing down at her phone, Allie swore and smiled apologetically at the boys, before grabbing her purse and hopping off of the bar stool she was perched on.**

"**Actually, I'm really sorry guys, but I've gotta go," she told them, squinting into the darkness outside the window, she was relieved to see a line of cabs waiting outside on the street. "But thanks for a really fun night," she grinned cheekily at them. "And for all your money."**

**When the laughter had died down, Ike and Swill offered to walk her to the taxi rank, but she declined. "Nah, don't worry, it's just outside, I'm sure I'll make it."**

**Turning to face Pete and Bovver, she smiled and glanced about the pub, taking in the old trophies and paintings on the walls; it was a lot homier than any of the pretentious bars that she and her friends frequented in Soho, all glass and bright white fittings trying a little too hard to be metropolitan.**

"**Well, I guess this is actually goodbye this time," she told them with what she hoped was a nonchalant tone, trying to hide her disappointment. "Next time I'm involved in a fight in Brixton, I'll look you up," she joked, provoking a smile from Pete and even Bovver, not really wanting to leave, she smiled once more and slung her bag over her shoulder. "I'll see you guys."**

**With that she began to walk around the bar towards the door; watching her leave, Pete felt his stomach start to flip. He knew that there was every chance that if he let her walk out that door, he wouldn't see her again and so with a mental 'fuck it', he called out her name.**

**Jogging over to where she had stopped in her tracks, he felt his heart get faster as she turned to face him and felt almost disgusted with his over excited schoolboy reaction to being so close to her.**

"**About what Bov said earlier," he began, stopping when she shook her head, laughing quietly.**

"**Don't worry about it,"**

"**No, that's the thing, I **_**do **_**want your number," he told her, forgetting for a moment that he had any pride whatsoever. "I know that we don't know each other that well, but fuck it, you know?"**

**Staring up at him apologetically, she smiled and slapped his arm.**

"**I can't." she told him, shrugging at the confused expression on his face. "You lost the game," she explained, keeping a completely straight face, and Pete was suddenly glad that he'd done this away from where the boys were standing. After everything she was shooting him down. Laughing bitterly inwardly, he remembered Ike's words from earlier, **_**' i girls like her don't go for blokes like us i .'**_

**He'd been right, he realised with a touch of anger, she'd actually rather be with that arsehole from the other night, than give him her phone number.**

"**I'm really sorry, Pete." She told him, touching his arm once more before turning and walking towards the exit. Staring at after her in disbelief, Pete couldn't work out whether he was pissed off or hurt; he'd honestly believed that there was something between the two of them, Christ, even the boys had spotted it. So what had happened? Had he done or said something in the past few hours that completely changed her opinion of him? Baffled, and more than a little bruised in the ego department, he sank down on one of the bar stools and took a long sip of his beer.**

**Pouring himself a glass of orange juice and laughing, Terry clapped him on the shoulder, earning him a glare that he was completely oblivious to.**

"**How do you do it, mate?" he asked shaking his head. "You're brother will be proud, but as for me, I'm just fucking shocked."**

**Swallowing the dregs of his beer, Pete grimaced as the bitter and now warm liquid ran down his throat.**

"**What are you talking about?" he asked, frowning but happily excepting the fresh beer Terry opened and pushed towards him.**

"**That bird that was just in here," Terry reminded him, looking at Pete as though he was crazy; but the younger lad just stared back at him blankly. "Fucking hell I fear for the future of this country, if you can't even remember a bird as fit as that giving you her number all of a minute ago."**

**Raising an eyebrow and licking his lips, Pete gave Terry a withering look, knowing full well that the story of his humiliation would make it back to his brother in no time.**

"**You must have missed it, being an old man and all," Terry glared at him. "But she just knocked me back when I asked for her number, happy now? Now get me another free beer for being a twat."**

**Smirking at Pete, Terry shook his head and pushed the piece of paper towards him, watching as Pete bent his head to look at it, then laughing as his eyes widened.**

"**Now who's the twat?" Terry asked, laughing at Pete's expression once more before going downstairs to grab another barrel.**

**Shaking his head, Pete couldn't help the grin that slowly appeared on his face when he read the note over and over again.**

** i 07767 706813 – you're so bad at pool; it felt like an unfair contest. Allie i .**

**Turning to look out of the window, he caught sight of Allie just as she was about to get into her taxi, stopping, she looked up and smiled at him before getting in and shutting the door; watching the can drive off, Pete sat in stunned silence for a minute. There was a lot more to this girl that meets the eye, he decided, with that he stood up and taking his beer with him, went back to where the boys were and held up the piece of paper with a grin on his face.**

"**You cheeky bastard!"**


	4. Chapter 4

**Lara Knight padded sleepily down the stairs of Allie's house, her auburn hair still in the messy pony tail she had pulled it into before climbing into bed last night. **

_**Last**__**night**_**; she grimaced, the taste of sambuca still strong in her mouth despite the double dose of mouthwash and chewing gum. Practically clinging to the banister of the grand Victorian staircase which curved into the foyer of the house, she smiled at the familiar surroundings. Lara's parents had divorced about ten years ago after her mother had discovered that her father had three other women on the go. All younger, more limber and completely unaware that he was a married man. It was fair to say that although her family had never been the Brady Bunch to begin with, things when pretty downhill after that. The divorce had allowed Lara's mother Millie to keep the Primrose Hill town house, which up until last year Lara had gladly shared with her, but being the free spirited hippy type, Millie had encouraged Lara to go out and live on her own. Her solution: move into Allie's house that was about ten minutes around the corner.**

**Having spent such a large chunk of her life in these four walls even before her family went to hell, Lara had always felt at home here, because that was the difference between them…Lara had a house, Allie had always had a home. **

**Turning the corner into the kitchen, she blinked in surprise as she watched Allie twirling around the kitchen, fully dressed and with a scarily big smile on her face. **

"**Morning sunshine," she called startling Lara who hadn't realised she had been spotted. Approaching the blonde warily, Lara reached out and pinched her arm. Hard. **

"**Ow!" Allie cried, shoving her. "That hurt, you bitch!" she grumbled, rubbing arm protectively and glaring at her friend as she walked over to the fridge, pulling out a jug of orange juice.**

"**Oh so it is you," she rolled her eyes. "I was just making sure I wasn't dreaming that I was in the invasion of the body snatchers or something, because correct me if I'm mistaken, but you actually look…happy."**

"**I'm always happy," Allie told her defensively, picking a strawberry out of the fruit bowl and popping it in her mouth.**

"**Not since you started dating Wanker Will," Lara reminded her, reaching for a strawberry, she froze, looking at Allie in amazement. "Oh my God, you dumped him, didn't you?"**

"**Oh yeah," Allie nodded, grinning. "And not in a manner that left him with any dignity either, but that's not why I'm happy," she practically skipped over to the breakfast bar and picked up her bag. "I met someone else, too."**

"**What?" Lara choked on her fruit. "Who? Oh, please tell me it's not that weird guy with the bowl cut from accounting,"**

"**Remember I told you about the guy on the train?" **

"**Yeah, uh…Paolo, right?" Lara asked, narrowing her eyes. **

"**Pete," Allie corrected her, laughing. "But anyway, I uh, I kind of went to see him yesterday and…"**

"**You what?" Lara screeched. "Allie, you know nothing about this bloke, he could be anyone!"**

"**He's nice," Allie shot back. "And he's funny, plus he's got a really amazing body…"**

"**Yeah, well that's probably what all the girls said about Jack the Ripper," Lara snorted. "And that didn't exactly have a fairytale ending, did it?"**

"**So you're saying the guy, who give or take, saved my life on the underground, did so, so that he could lure me into a relationship and…kill me?" Allie burst out laughing. Lara had an amazing heart, but apparently, it shared no common connection with her brain. **

"**Oh sure, its all fun and games till someone gets a phone call asking to come down to the morgue and ID their best friends body," Lara snapped, shaking her head. Maybe she would feel more comfortable if she met the guy…or maybe she was just horrendously hung over and therefore blowing everything out of proportion. **

"**Ok, every time we go out you end up chatting up some random suit, but I meet perfectly nice…"**

"**Hooligan?" Lara offered. **

"**Man," Allie interrupted her, speaking slightly louder than before. "And he's out to butcher me? That is so unfair!" Moving to stand behind the girl who had been her surrogate sister for the past fifteen years, she leant her head on her shoulder and saw her smile. "He's got a really, really, really nice body,"**

"**You're insane," Lara laughed through her mouthful of coco pops. **

"**He asked for my number," Allie grinned. "And I gave it to him." Snatching up her purse again, she planted a kiss on Lara's cheek and grinned. "I'm going out; I need to hit Agent Provocateur for Jack's newest article,"**

"**Whatever," Lara shook her head. "If the morgue calls, I'm hanging up on them,"**

"**I love you!" Allie laughed, pulling the front door open and stepping out into the cold November morning. **

"**Love you, too," Lara shouted back with a laugh of her own. She had to admit that if the guy had the ability to make Allie smile like that in just a few days of meeting him then there had to be something decent about him. Staring at the bowl of half eaten cereal, Lara felt her stomach lurch and leapt up from the table, running full pelt towards the downstairs bathroom. **

**Coco pops and sambuca: not a good combination on a Monday morning. **

**A/N: So I know this chapter was a bit…uneventful and well, erring on the side of crap but the next one is much better as its solely Pete/Allie interaction. So enjoy, and don't forget to review! ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Dropping her shopping bags on the chair beside her, Allie sank down and waited for the waitress in her favourite café in all London to come over and take her order. They knew her so well in here, the waiters often joked that they shouldn't even bother asking what she wanted.**

**Ordering a cuppachino and a banana caramel muffin, she opened her book on the last page she was at and began reading.**

**Temporarily getting lost in the world of Steinbeck, she was pulled out of her reverie as the waitress deposited her coffee and muffin on the table; smiling her thanks, she took a long sip of the hot drink, revelling in the sensation of it running down her throat, making her feel invincible to the bitter cold outside.**

**Taking a bite of the muffin, still hot from the oven, she rolled her eyes at the sound of her phone ringing; digging around in her bag, she mumbled incoherent curses about never being able to find the damn thing. Grasping it triumphantly, she frowned at the unknown number on the screen and flipped it open, quickly swallowing her mouthful of caramel and banana sponge.**

"**Hello?"**

"**Another second and I would have hung up." Pete smiled down the phone, making her stomach fill with butterflies.**

"**I was wondering how long it would take you to call," she told him, picking a caramel chunk out of the muffin and licking it off of her finger. "But granted how long it took you to realise I'd given you my number in the first place, I wasn't exactly holding my breath."**

**Laughing, Pete walked along the pavement, pulling the zip of his jacket up as far as it would go to keep out the cold November wind.**

"**Yeah, well I thought you'd shot me down," he heard her laugh on the other end of the phone and he shook his head. "Yeah, its funny now, but my ego took a pretty fierce beating that night, I can tell you."**

"**Why?" she asked with a laugh. "Because I wouldn't give you my number?"**

"**Yeah, well that and a ****girl ****beat me at pool." He answered in false disgust, making her laugh once more. Turning the corner he grinned.**

"**So what are you doing today?" he asked.**

"**Me?" she licked a glob of caramel off of her finger. "I'm working,"**

"**Really?" Pete asked her, the disbelief evident in his voice.**

"**What, you don't believe me?" she asked him, leaning back in her chair and absentmindedly twirling the sugar shaker on the table, grimacing when she noticed how sticky it was. **

"**No," Pete narrowed his eyes and grinned down the phone. "I believe you, but I just want you to give me the number of your boss, because if having lunch in a coffee shop, even if it is poncy, qualifies as a job then fucking sign me up."**

**Silence greeted him on the end of the phone. **

"**Wait, how do you know.." she trailed off and he watched for a moment as she paused before turning to face the window and laughing as she saw him staring at her with that same cocky grin on his face. **

**She shook her head, leaning on the table and wondering why the hell she couldn't stop smiling. **

"**I'm impressed," she told him not quite believing that he was outside the café.**

"**Yeah, well, you're not the only one who can play detective," he told her with that same sexy smirk he had given her the first night they had met. The butterflies in her stomach doubled as he flipped his phone shut and pulled the door to the café open.**

**Stepping inside he was hit by the warmth emitted by the oven and the smell of fresh cakes; nodding at the girl behind the counter who gave him a flirtatious smile, he made his way over Allie's table, taking in the numerous boutique bags on the chair and the open book lying on beside her coffee mug. Pulling out the chair next to her, he sat down and leant on the table.**

"**Hi." He said, smiling as she giggled and nodded in return.**

"**Hi."**

**Reaching for her half eaten banana and caramel muffin, Allie slapped his hand and laughed at the expression on his face.**

"**Buy your own, you cheeky git!" she laughed pulling the plate towards her as he reached for it again. Shaking his head, he picked up her book and winced at the title.**

"**What?"**

**Raising his eyebrows, he flicked the pages before staring at the cover.**

"**Nothing, it's just, if you're gonna read Steinbeck, at least have the decency to read his good stuff."**

**Choking out a laugh, Allie put her coffee mug back down and stared at Pete in shock.**

"**You've ****read Steinbeck?" she asked, not wanting to sound rude, but wondering how many more surprises Pete had up his sleeve.**

**Leaning back on his chair, Pete grasped his chest in pretend heartbreak.**

"**What? You think I'm illiterate or something?" he asked her teasingly.**

**Rolling her eyes at him, Allie took the book out of his hands and turned it over.**

"**No, of course not," she laughed. "It's just…you seem like more of a…" poking her tongue into the side of her cheek she smiled teasingly at him. "More of a…Sports Illustrated type of guy."**

**Pete surprised both her and himself by bursting out laughing at her comment; if Allie had ever said anything like that to Will, he would have made a scene and stormed off. She remembered one occasion where they had been having dinner and she jokingly asked him if he was going for the Queer eye for the Straight guy look after he showed up in a pink shirt and purple tie, and he had slammed down his knife and fork and left her –and the bill- in the restaurant.**

"**So if I'm the Sports Illustrated bloke," he told her, breaking off a piece of cake, surprised when she didn't stop him this time. Reaching out, he picked up the magazine that was sat beside her coffee cup and glanced at the cover. "Vogue," he nodded, eyeing up Scarlet Johanson on the cover. "Nice," he smirked at her as she rolled her eyes, pulling the magazine away from him. "Which makes you the girl who underestimates herself and chooses to date total wankers when she could pretty much have any other bloke on the planet begging at her feet with a click of her fingers?" he caught the look on her face. "What? You think I don't watch Operah?" **

**Staring at him with her green eyes wide and mouth slightly hung open in shock, she managed to get her bearings again and nodded mutely.**

"**Sounds like you've got me sussed," she told him, slightly disappointed that that was how he saw her.**

**Fixing her with a stare that made her breath catch in her throat, he told her.**

"**Not a chance in hell."**

**Glancing back up at him, she didn't know what to say so she simply nodded and smiled, feeling slightly embarrassed for some reason.**

"**Well just for the record, I'm no longer dating the wanker," she told him with a snort. "And if you're so convinced I'm able to get any bloke I want at the click of my fingers, well, you should see me when I wake up first thing in the morning."**

**Raising his eyebrows, Pete waited for her to catch on, and laughed when he saw the pink rise in her cheeks. Squeezing her eyes shut, she put her head in her hands.**

"**Alright that may have come out wrong," she told him laughing to herself. "Anyway, today was a half day for me, what's your excuse for wondering around Sloane at 2pm on a Monday afternoon?"**

**Stretching his arms above his head, Pete grinned, as he thought of the rest of the boys hung over to hell at work.**

"**It's an in-set day," he told her simply, watching as her eyes widened.**

"**What do you mean? Are you a student or something?" she eyed him suspiciously; he looked her age, but you could never tell with kids these days. As though reading her mind, Pete laughed and leant closer to her, lowering his voice.**

"**Relax, I'm 22, not 12." He told her, catching the relief in her eyes. "Nah I teach at Coventry Secondary School."**

"**Wait a minute…you're a teacher?"**

"**History and P.E." Pete nodded, catching the admiration in her eyes and feeling something flutter inside of him. Why did it suddenly matter so much what this girl thought? It was one thing to think she was fit, but he'd only met her three times and she was already starting to have a lasting effect on him; whenever he wasn't with her he was thinking about her, and whenever he did see her, he would swear that for those first few seconds, his heart stopped beating.**

"**But, you're only 22, so you must have…"**

"**Graduated a year ahead of my class?" he finished for her. "Yeah."**

**Allie shook her head and laughed, thinking about how much her opinion had changed of him since they first met. He had gone from being just another hooligan in a fight, albeit a very good-looking one and a fight in which he was defending her, to a schoolteacher who read Steinbeck and walked around Sloane Square searching every café looking for her, which reminded her…**

"**How exactly did you know I would be here?" she asked, finding it strange that the thought had never occurred to her before.**

"**Uh…" Pete laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. "After you left the pub that day, the bloke driving your taxi happened to be a mate of Bovver's and…"**

"**You asked him for my address?" Allie asked, astounded.**

"**Well, I did have to say pretty please first." Pete told her jokingly. "I went to your place this morning to see if you wanted to get some lunch, and by the way you failed to mention the fact that you live in a fucking mansion," she laughed. "And your housemate answered the door," Pete glanced at her. "She's, uh, she asks a lot of questions." **

**Allie laughed, shaking her head as she recalled the conversation she had had with Lara before leaving the house this morning. **

"**But after interrogating me for about 10 minutes she told me that you'd be here."**

**Raising an eyebrow at him, Allie couldn't help the smile that formed on her face.**

"**Well, now I guess it's my turn to be impressed," she told him, still not quite believing that he had gone to so much trouble to find her. Glancing at him she could tell that he was a little embarrassed and so decided to change the subject. But where do you even begin with Pete Dunham? She thought, the guy had so many different sides to him, she was sure that even if she spent 24/7 with him for the rest of their lives she would never fully know him.**

"**So what is it you do?" he asked her, shifting in his seat, and for the first time Allie noticed how uncomfortable he looked, his 6"1 frame perched on the decorative French boudoir chair. Smirking to herself she decided to show him some form of mercy.**

"**Do you want to go for a walk or something?" she asked, pushing the half-eaten muffin and empty coffee mug away from her and putting her book back in her bag.**

**Shooting her a grateful look, Pete nodded and stood up, stretching his arms above his head before leaning down to pick up some of her bags; shaking her head, Allie took the bags out his hands and raised an eye brow when he frowned at her, obviously confused.**

"**Unless you want people to think that you shop at Agent Provocateur," she told him holding up the pink bag. "I think it would best if I carried these."**

**Nodding in understanding, and inwardly cursing himself when he felt himself blush, he gestured for her to go ahead and followed her to the door.**

**Great, so now you're blushing? He thought, what are you, a fucking schoolboy?**

**Following her out through the glass doors, they both winced as the chilly air whipped around their faces, made even colder by the warmth of the café that they had just left.**

**Suddenly, Allie's phone rang and she shot an apologetic look at him, cursing inwardly as 'work' flashed up on the screen.**

"**Hello?" **

"**He came to the house!"**

"**Lara?" Allie winced as her high pitched shriek drifted down the phone. **

"**He's a fucking God!" **

**Allie glanced at Pete out of the corner of her eye and prayed that he couldn't hear any of this. **

"**You approve then?" Allie asked, the smile evident in her voice. **

"**Approve?" Lara shot back. "All I can think about is how I wish I hadn't been so damn slaughtered so I could have gotten on the train with you."**

"**Yeah, well finders keepers," she laughed. "Look Lara, I have to go, I'm with a friend,"**

**Pete smiled but didn't look at her, still trying to decipher the one ended conversation; given it was that insane red headed bird on the other end, he had a feeling he was the topic of discussion. **

"**Oh my God! Is he with you?"**

"**Bye, Lara," Allie rolled her eyes. **

"**Alyssa," she stated calmly, using her full name for effect. "As a woman, it is your responsibility, nay your **_**duty **_**to the rest of womankind to use everything in your power to get that man naked." **

"**You need help," Allie snorted. "I'm going,"**

"**Yeah, well I'm bloody jealous," there was a pause on the other end. "Ask him if he prefers red heads or blondes,"**

**Flipping the phone shut, Allie looked at Pete who for some reason was grinning, and on some level she knew that he had somehow heard every word. **

"**Sorry about that," she laughed. "My housemate is a social retard and gets a little too excited whilst on the phone."**

**Walking down the road in a comfortable silence for a few moments, Pete winced as his stomach rumbled.**

**Laughing, Allie glanced sideways at him. "Hungry?"**

"**Yeah, it was a bit of a late night, and I didn't get the chance to grab breakfast," he told her, shoving his hands in his pockets and feeling around for loose change; he was sure he had seen a sandwich place around here somewhere.**

"**I know a place," she told him with a grin. "Follow me."**


	6. Chapter 6

"**What?" Allie asked as she poured another helping of vinegar onto her chips before following Pete out of the shop and onto the riverbank. Walking over to a bench over looking the river, Allie dumped her bags and then sat down, tugging her scarf tighter around her neck.**

"**Nothing, I just assumed when you said you knew a place that it was going to be some poxy sushi shit or something," he told her grinning at her when she laughed.**

"**I'm not really a sushi girl," she commented, spearing another few chips on her wooden fork and shoving them into her mouth. They were so hot that they almost burned but it was a welcoming change to the bitter cold around them. "My Dad used to take me there every Friday when I was a kid," she told him, swallowing the vinegar soaked chips with pleasure. "I don't think anyone else knows about it around here, saying that, they've got their heads so far up their arses, I'm surprised they can see anything."**

**Pete laughed, taken aback by the remark; the more he got to know this girl, the more he realised he and the boys had read her completely wrong; Bovver was still convinced that she was just some rich bird looking for a bit of fun, maybe trying to prove a point to Mummy and Daddy, but they hadn't seen this side to her.**

"**So if you hate it so much why do you live here?" he asked her, genuinely curious.**

**Shrugging, she turned to him and smiled tightly.**

"**It's where I was brought up," she looked out at the river and Pete noted that a sad expression had come over her face. "My Mum died when I was nine and My Dad works abroad a lot so the house is the only link that I really have to the family."**

"**What does your Dad do?"**

**A smile came over her face again.**

"**Same as my Mum…they were lawyers who were convinced that they were going to change the world," she shook her head, but Pete could hear the pride in her voice. "I think they wanted me to follow in the same footsteps, but unfortunately for them I'm not that bright."**

**Laughing, Pete narrowed his eyes at her. "Oh, really?" he asked. "So what do you do then?"**

"**I'm a Journalist," she told him, nonchalantly, but immediately, Pete felt his whole body tense. She was a journalist…. fan fucking tastic. What paper did she work for? Maybe he could get a first hand answer into why all Journo's are wankers. "Which reminds me, you're sitting on my next assignment,"**

**Looking at her as though she was insane, Pete noticed she was gesturing towards one of the bags he was sat on. Sensing his confusion, Allie opened her wallet and showed him her ID.**

"**You work for Vogue?" he asked her, trying not to laugh as he felt the pure relief surge through his body. If she had been a journo for the Times or something, then that would have been the end of whatever this was developing between them; the Major of the GSE could not date a journo, Pete couldn't think of who would kill him first, the boys of the other firms or his own.**

"**Yeah, alright, so I'm not saving the world or educating the masses, but I love my job," she told him, snatching the card and shoving it back into her wallet. "I went to Uni, too, you cheeky bastard!"**

**Holding up his hands in mock surrender, Pete could not help the grin that was forming on his face.**

"**Oxford?" he asked raising an eyebrow at her as she smirked and popped another chip into her mouth; how anyone could put up with that much vinegar he couldn't understand.**

"**London Met." She replied, searching for a napkin to wipe her greasy hands on and smiling gratefully when Pete handed her his. "You?"**

"**Roehampton," he answered, chuckling and shaking his head. "That's where I met most of the boys,"**

**Almost choking on her mouthful of chips, Allie turned to Pete with her eyes wide.**

"**Swill went to Uni?" she asked with a laugh. Jesus, every time she was sure she had these boys sussed out, they would pull another one out of the bag and completely surprise her.**

"**Yeah, I know," Pete told her with a laugh of his own. "You wouldn't think it looking at him would you? Poor bastard has trouble remembering where he puts his keys every night, but you give him maths and he knows his shit."**

**Shaking her head in disbelief, Pete continued.**

"**Dave studied science and engineering and he's now a fucking air line pilot if you can believe that, and Keith's a mechanic."**

"**What about Bovver?" Allie asked, frowning. **

"**Ah, Bov," Pete sighed, scratching the back of his head. "Bovver was never interested in school…when we were kids he used to get into so much shit because he was never in lessons; didn't help that his Dad used to beat him within an inch of his life most nights," Allie gasped slightly, and not for the first time, was thankful for her upbringing. Crumpling up his greasy newspaper, Pete threw it with success into the bin opposite them. "So, Bovver dropped out of college and just ended up doing stupid shitty jobs with bollocks pay. At the moment, he's working in Keith's garage, but it won't last; that's the thing with Bov, he's restless."**

**It felt strange telling her so much about the boys, they almost sounded normal without all the GSE crap to go along with it. But there was no way in hell he could tell her all that; she knew that they fought, Christ that was what had gotten them into this situation in the first place, but she would just have to make her own mind up. Glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, he watched as her honey coloured hair blew gently about her face, her green eyes sparking in the cold as they danced over the river; she was not a stupid girl, whatever conclusion she came to, Pete knew that she would not make it until she was completely sure of what she wanted.**

**But what did he want?**

**Snorting, he turned to look at her again, remembering the first time he'd seen her; her black strapless dress clinging to every curve, slightly tanned skin shimmering even in the dim light of the tube station, eyes flashing as she yelled at him; the girl was sexy as hell, it didn't take a genius to notice that. So it was obvious what **_**he**_** wanted.**

_**It's more than that; **_**the annoying voice in his head was back. It only seemed to make an appearance when she was around him. Sighing in defeat, he knew that whatever she was doing to him went beyond the physical; Jesus if that was all he wanted all he had to do was go back to the pub and blink at Georgie, or any of the other girls who relentlessly tried it on with him. But there was something about this girl, something that was starting to worry him; you don't hunt down a cabbie and bribe him for a girls address, then spend the better half of your one day off searching the streets of Sloane trying to find her if all you want is a quick shag.**

"**So what did you study then?" he asked her, not wanting her to realise that he had been staring.**

"**English and American Literature," snapping her wooden fork in half, she too threw her crumpled paper into the bin, wincing when she missed. "Growing up in a house of boys had been a little too macho intensive for me," she commented standing up and grabbing the piece of fallen rubbish. "So I realised when I was about eleven that I wanted to go into fashion, but I'm no artist so my designs pretty much got laughed out of every meeting room, so I thought, hey if I can't do it then I'll make a living out of criticising it." She added with a laugh as she took a shot, landing the paper into the bin with a little hop. Turing around she threw her hands into the air. "Yes!" she yelled, making Pete laugh. "So what would you give me?" she asked, twirling a piece of her scarf around her finger.**

**Gulping, Pete fought the urge to laugh at the blatant innuendo.**

"**Huh?"**

"**If I was one of your pupils," she said, exasperated, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "What would you give me? Come on, that was a pretty nice shot, I reckon at **_**least **_**a B+." She told him, cocking her head to one side and nodding earnestly.**

**Grinning, Pete stood up and winced. "Well, you didn't bend your knees, and you were about a foot away from the…bin" he told her gesturing and pursing his lips in mock consideration. "C at the most."**

**Allie's mouth dropped open in mock outrage and she folded her arms over her chest, tapping one foot on the pavement.**

"**Oh, piss off, what do you know anyway?" She shot at him, ignoring his laugh as she shoved him backward.**

"**See, I'd have to put you in detention for that if you really were one of my pupils," he told her, taking a step forward, noticing that she did not move backward as he thought she would. Instead she looked up and met his gaze full on, almost challenging him; it was becoming more and more apparent that she was not the damsel in distress he thought she had been that night on the train, this girl was not intimidated by him or the other boys, and that was saying something.**

"**You wouldn't dare," she answered with a smirk.**

**Raising one eyebrow at her, he felt a smile pull at the corner of his mouth; lowering his head slightly, he tried to distract himself from her scent, something flowery mixed with cinnamon and vanilla. Damnit, what was he doing?**

"**You wanna bet?"**

"**Ah, see but that would require money," she told him, smiling sweetly. "I'm pretty sure I cleaned you out playing pool the other night."**

**Throwing his head back, Pete laughed and shook his head, landing his gaze on hers once more. Blue met green and he knew in that moment that whatever this was between them had already gone too far to stop it.**

"**Well, do you fancy giving me a shot at winning it back?" he asked, trying not to sound too eager. He hadn't been this nervous around a girl since he was about sixteen, he knew he wanted to ask her out, shit, **_**she**_** probably even knew it, so why couldn't he just come out and say it?**

"**Alright," she told him, making him blink in surprise. He hadn't expected her to say yes. "How about right now?" she asked, slinging her bag over her shoulder and pulling down the sleeves of her jacket to cover her freezing cold hands.**

"**Right now?" he asked her with a laugh. "You wanna go to the pub and settle this right now?"**

"**You got something better to do?" she asked him, raising an eyebrow. "Or are you just scared that I'm going to kick your arse again?"  
"After the way you played last time, yeah, quite frankly, I'm fucking terrified." He told her with a laugh. "But at the same time, I think the least you owe me is a fair shot at getting it back." Glancing at the old couple walking past them with their dog, he sniffed at the cold, shoving his hands in his pockets. **

"**Typical bloke," she laughed. "Willing to rob a poor little girl like me just to regain your dignity," **

"**We're not all like that," Pete told her, smirking. "Come on, I let you win at pool didn't I?"**

"**Ooooh," Allie laughed, shaking her head. "Come on, I kicked your arse and you know it." She grinned up at him. "Besides, I wasn't necessarily putting you in that category."**

"**So if I'm not one of those blokes, who am I then?" he asked her playfully, yet at the same time genuinely curious as to what her answer would be. **

**Not daring to take his eyes off of hers, Pete felt his heart speed up and his body growing warmer despite the coldness around them.**

"**I don't have a clue," she told him honestly. Bringing her eyes back up to meet his, she shrugged her shoulders lightly and tucked a piece of honey coloured hair behind her ear. "But I do know how appalling you are at pool so how about if I promise to go easy on you this time?"**

**Turning, she walked backwards towards the path that leads to the nearest underground station.**

"**Come on," she called with a laugh, nodding her head towards him. "What're you waiting for?"**

**Smirking and jogging after her, Pete Dunham knew right then and there that this woman was going to be the end of him.**


	7. Chapter 7

**One week later**

"**Mr. Dunham, if you could try wearing a suit and tie this year, I think the parents would appreciate it," Benjamin Ellis said in a mocking tone, glancing at the young man over his oversized mug of coffee.**

**Straightening his tie, Pete smirked at the slightly older man perched on the counter of the staff room. Since he was employed by Coventry Secondary school Pete had been the outsider, not simply because of his age but due to his lifestyle; at the age of 22 it was a rite of passage that he would at some point or another stumble into work hung over, and everyone bar Benjamin had been more that a little 'disappointed' with his behaviour. In fact he was pretty sure that Benjamin was the only reason he didn't get fired that week.**

"**Don't start with that bollocks," Pete laughed. "I still haven't lived last year down. It's out of school hours, how the hell was I supposed to know there was a dress code?" he asked innocently, striving to keep a straight face.**

**Laughing and placing his now empty mug down on the worktop, Benjamin jumped down and wiped his hands on his trousers.**

"**Well, at least you've managed it second time round," he gestured to Pete's shirt and tie. "Something tells me that the jeans and Hammers t-shirt wasn't appreciated."**

"**I was on the way to a game," Pete protested, shrugging with a grin.**

**Shaking his head, Benjamin looked out of the window into the car park below and let out a deep breath. Parents evening was always hell; no one wanted to be told that their kid had behavioural problems or was the reason most of the other kids in the class were failing. But it came with the territory.**

**Suddenly a shout came from down the hall, meeting Benjamin's eyes for a second, Pete swore under his breath and jogged out into the hall. Turning into his classroom, the boys quickly jumped off of each other and stood staring at the floor.**

"**What's all this, then?" he asked, crossing his arms across his chest.**

**No one spoke at first, and then all the boys started yelling at once.**

"**Harry tried to…"**

"**Jake was going to…"**

"**It wasn't me, it was…"**

**Wincing at the noise and holding up his hands, Pete took a deep breath.**

"**Alright, alright," rubbing the back of his head, he slid onto one of the tables and gestured for the boys to sit. "Look, boys, tonight is going to be a pain in the arse as it is, so lets just try and get through it without killing each other, alright?"**

**Glancing from face to face, he watched as the ten year olds tugged at their jumpers and turned red with embarrassment.**

"**I don't really want to have to explain to anyone's parents why they've got a black eye now, do I?"**

**Noticing the mess on the floor, Pete laughed and bent down to pick up a piece of torn Crete paper.**

"**I'm guessing you didn't get very far on the decorating?" he asked, quickly taking stock of the whole classroom. "Its alright, this is fixable lads, and lucky for you, I've got a back up,"**

"**I brought as much glue as I could find," Allie told him with a confused look on her face as Pete ushered her in through the entrance of the school 20 minutes later. "Do I need to be afraid?"**

"**No, but I thought that as it's your night off and I'm already knee deep in shit, you wouldn't mind giving me a hand?" Pete asked her, noticing the strange look the receptionist was giving them.**

**Smiling up at him, Allie tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear.**

"**Of course I will." She answered, following him down the small hallway, smiling to herself at the children's paintings on the wall. "But you do realise that you owe me big time, right?" she told him.**

**Nodding and opening the door to the classroom for her, he shook his head with a smile of his own.**

"**I'm sure I'll think of some way to repay you," he winked at her and she rolled her eyes, shaking her head when Pete laughed at the blush which involuntarily crept up into her cheeks.**

"**Yeah, yeah," taking in the disarray of the classroom, Pete winced and turned to Allie who looked surprisingly calm, just glancing about the room.**

**The boys, who were currently trying to hang up the torn decorations from the floor, stopped and turned to the pair, giggling and whispering as they took in the sight of the girl.**

"**Well, boys, we have a guest," he told them nodding his head towards Allie. "Miss Harding is a writer and a mate of mine and she's generously decided to take time out of her schedule to come and help us out, because being blokes, we don't have a clue what we're doing, do we boys?"**

**They shook their heads, glue and Crete paper stuck to their shirts, faces, practically everywhere.**

"**So, Miss Harding is gonna give us a helping hand so that your parents don't end up kicking my and your arses," the boys laughed, while Allie shook her head. "So let's get going shall we? Any questions?"**

**The young boys looked at each other and laughed, shoving each other's shoulders until Jake Porter finally spoke up.**

"**Is she your girlfriend sir?" He asked, with a grin that had the other boys and Allie laughing against their will.**

**Raising his eyebrows, Pete scratched the back of his head and shot Allie what he hoped was an apologetic look.**

"**Get to work boys," he said shoving Jake forward towards one of the desks.**

"**Does that mean she's single then, sir?"**

**Chuckling and shaking his head, Pete turned to Allie and winked, returning her smile. Taking a deep breath and rubbing her hands on the back of her skinny jeans, she stepped forward and looked at Jake with a smile.**

"**Tell you what," she said with a smile. "If we get this done, I can't promise you a date, because I don't want to go to prison," Pete laughed from where he was sifting through the papers on this desk. "But I **_**can**_** promise everyone in this room a McDonalds, How's that?"**

**The boys began moving around the classroom with lightening speed, and Allie shook her head; **_**men**_**, she thought **_**no matter what age, they all think with their…stomachs.**_

**One of the boys grabbed her hand and dragged her over to one of the desks, practically throwing a pile of paper and glue at her; as she began cutting and sticking, each of the boys took it turns to quiz her.**

"**So what's the deal with you and Mr. Dunham?"**

"**Who's your favourite football player?"**

"**Did you know that I can do back flips?"**

**Trying her best to answer all of them at once, she laughed at the banter she kept with them; so busy focusing on the boys that she didn't see Pete staring at her from where he sat twirling a pen absentmindedly around his fingers.**

"**Oh, Christ, I've seen that look before," Benjamin told him, leaning against the door with his fourth cup of coffee that night in his hand. Glancing up at him, Pete frowned slightly. "It's the look of a man beyond help."**

"**What?" he asked, causing Benjamin to laugh at his more than defensive tone.**

"**That bird over there, you've got it bad," he laughed. "Look at you, you've got a mountain of paper work in front of you that you know needs to be done in the next half hour otherwise you're in the shit, and yet all you can do is stare at the back of her head."**

**Leaning around, Benjamin let out a low whistle.**

"**Fuck me, not that I can blame you, where'd you meet her?"**

**Turning sharply, Pete met the older mans gaze and narrowed his eyes.**

"**She's a mate," Pete told him firmly, wincing at how forced it sounded. No they were not a couple, but there was definitely something between them that crossed the friendship line. **

**Snorting, Benjamin took a long sip of coffee grimacing as the now stone cold liquid travelled down his throat.**

"**Whatever you say, Dunham…" he said turning and waving at Allie who looked around and smiled at them. "Whatever you say."**

**Leaning out into the hall, Pete saw the first of the parents making their way towards his classroom oh-ing and aw-ing over all the paintings on the walls.**

**Glancing down at the untouched pile of papers, he shoved them into his desk with a "Fuck it", and smiled broadly as one of the boys Mother's sat down in front of him and began firing questions.**

_**Shit, **_**he thought, forcing a smile **_**one down, twenty to go.**_

"**That was interesting," Allie laughed, finishing off her coke and chucking the cup successfully in the bin.**

**Pete who was behind her clearing up the last of the rubbish the boys had left from their McDonalds finally gave up and sat down on the bench beside her overlooking the playground. Turning to look at Allie, Pete smiled; had it not been for her, he knew that there was no way he would have gotten through tonight. Not only had she helped with all the preparation, but also she'd managed the almost impossible task of keeping the boys occupied and out of trouble for the entire two hours.**

"**You reckon?" he asked in disbelief. "Try doing it once every few months, believe me, it gets old, very fucking quickly."**

"**You know when you first told me you were a teacher, I almost didn't believe you." She told him, not quite looking at him; but when he laughed and shook his head, she turned to him, knowing that he had not taken it in offence. "It's just you're so young and then there's the whole thing of how we actually met…" shaking her head, she smiled at him bashfully. **

**Laughing, Pete looked out onto the playground and rubbed his face tiredly.**

"**I actually used to go here when I was a kid," he told her. "Me and Bovver met over there by the classroom by the swings. His mate had just tried to beat the hell out of mine, and it was me and Bov that stepped into the middle and tried to break it up."**

**Smiling, Allie pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. "You and Bovver peacemakers," she giggled. "Who'd have thought it?"**

"**Actually, Bov ended up with a black eye and I got my nose broken." He answered, laughing to himself at the memory. Bovver had sat next to him in the nurse's office, an ice pack over his eye and eventually turned to him with a confused look on his face and said, 'don't you live near me?' and that had been the start of it. Their friendship had survived everything from deaths to fights and they were still the closest of their group; despite the fact Pete had Steve, he looked to Bovver as his brother. Steve had never been there through Pete's childhood; yeah he'd been there to play the role of big brother whenever someone did something to him, but he'd been so busy with his own mates and the GSE that Pete rarely spent any real time with him until he looked old enough to sneak into pubs.**

"**I can tell you something though," he leant forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "If you'd have told me then that I'd end up back here…fucking teaching of all things," he laughed and shook his head. "I would have told you that you were nuts."**

**Regarding him thoughtfully, Allie nudged him with her shoulder.**

"**So what made you want to teach?"**

**Letting out a breath, Pete thought carefully about what he was going to say next; he could not tell her the truth. What would he say? 'Well, when I was 12 my Dad who was a dodgy bastard to say the least was beaten to death in a fight and it made me realise that if I didn't sort my act out, I was going to end up in the same position.' Yeah, that would go down brilliantly.**

"**My Dad," he told her, staring straight ahead. "He wasn't the best bloke in the world, and I would always look at him and think, I'd rather be dead than end up like you." Snorting to himself at the pun, he continued. "I knew I wanted to do something with my life, but I didn't have a clue what; life at home was pretty shit so school had always been this escape and I just ended up teaching."**

**Looking down at his hands, Pete thought about telling her the rest, but he knew that if he did, she would run a mile. Or at least she would if she had an ounce of sense in her.**

"**You're good with them," she told him, her voice breaking him out of his reverie. "The boys love you, I mean they wouldn't shut up about you."**

**Smiling, Pete turned and looked into the empty classroom, shaking his head at the mess on the floor.**

"**Yeah well apparently they don't love me enough to clean up," he commented raising his eyebrows. "Cheeky gits."**

**Allie laughed and tipped her head back taking in the crystal clear sky; so much of her life had changed in the past month and in some strange way it was all down to the man next to her.**

"**So why did you call me on my night off?" she asked, turning to face him so she was straddling the bench. "Not that I mind," she added quickly.**

**Slightly caught off guard, Pete could tell from the amused look in her eyes that she was asking merely out of interest and not anger.**

"**You want the truth?" he asked her, leaning in slightly so that their bodies were almost touching. But not quite.**

**Allie felt goose bumps break out over her skin and even though it was practically freezing outside; she knew that was not the reason.**

"**Why not?" she replied jokingly.**

"**I wanted to see you," he told her, not quite looking her in the eye. "And I wanted you to see me."**

**She tilted her head slightly, giving him a confused look.**

"**I mean I wanted you to see this side of me; the one that isn't in a fight or a pub." Pete shrugged. "Because that's not who I am." Snorting, he nodded. "Well, most of the time, anyway."**

**Giving him a look that he could not recognise, Allie smiled softly.**

"**I know that." She told him honestly. "So what, were you, like trying to impress me?" she asked, feigning horror.**

**Laughing, Pete rubbed his chin and smirked at her.**

"**Trying is the key word there," he told her with a smile in his voice. "But judging by the fact you've been verbally harassed by ten-year-olds all night and have glitter glue stuck on your clothes, something tells me my attempt hasn't worked."**

**Shaking her head more to herself that to him, Allie leant forward and smiled at him, meeting his eyes.**

"**I wouldn't be too sure about that." She told him, leaning in closer to him. Her breath caught in her throat when she noticed his eyes flicking down to her lips, his hand reaching out and gently cupping her chin. **

**Slowly, he leaned in, and catching her eyes quickly as though making sure this was ok, he closed the gap between them and kissed her softly, after a short moment, Pete pulled away almost as though to gage her reaction; Allie's eyes flickered open and she smiled softly at him, her heart pounding as one of Pete's hands drifted up to cup her cheek and gently traced her lips. Their eyes met and it was clear what both of them were thinking, whatever this was, it was big. Leaning in again, Pete covered her mouth with his, letting one hand run down her back to settle in the curve of her waist as he deepened the kiss. Allie smiled against his mouth, her hands resting on his chest, revelling in the feel of his muscles beneath his shirt as he pulled her body closer to his. After a few minutes, they pulled apart breathlessly, resting their foreheads against one another smiling stupidly. **

"**I've been waiting to do that for about 3 weeks," Pete told her with a grin. "Since that first night on the train,"**

"**What took you so long**?**" Allie asked, kissing him again. **

"**I'm a fucking idiot," Pete told her, running a finger down her neck and feeling a shiver run through her. **

"**Yeah, well just don't let it be another three weeks before you kiss me again," Allie told him, her eyes glowing as she noticed the way he was watching her mouth move. **

"**Not a fucking chance," he mumbled, silencing her laugh as he leant forward and pulling her even closer, closing the gap between them once more. **


	8. Chapter 8

"**Are you having a bubble?" Bovver practically shouted as Dave tried his best not to choke on his beer. Shaking his head and looking at the shocked faces of his closest mates, Pete didn't know whether to laugh or feel insulted.**

"**Nah, Gospel of Paul, mate," he told them, calmly taking a sip of his pint.**

"**You're trying to tell me," Ike leaned on his arms on the table and looked Pete squarely in the eye. "That **_**you're **_**going out with the Sloane Square bird?"**

**Raising his eyebrows and nodding, Pete lifted his hands in defeat.**

"**Is that actually that fucking difficult to believe?"**

"**In all honesty mate," Swill told him with a laugh. "Yeah. She's a rich, fit, classy bird, and you're…"**

**Trailing off at the look Pete gave him, Swill smiled and reached for his beer.**

**Moving to sit next to his friend, Bovver looked at his friend seriously.**

"**What?" Pete asked, frustrated with the way the boys were reacting. "You think I'm making this up as well?"**

**Rubbing the back of his neck, Bovver shook his head and reached for his cigarettes.**

"**Course I don't," he told Pete earnestly. "But I have to ask mate, do you really think that this is such a good idea?" Pete began to open his mouth but Bovver stopped him by speaking first. "Look, she's a nice bird, no one's denying that, but she's a journo, mate."**

**Raising one eyebrow, Pete looked at Bovver in askance. "For fuck sake Bov, she works for Vogue, not the fucking Times."**

**Had Pete not known that Bovver was one hundred percent serious on this he would have simply laughed. Yes, they had all made an agreement that as far as women and relationships went, the GSE had to come first to a certain degree; but Keith was married, Dave had a girlfriend up until 6 months ago, so why was it such a big deal for Pete to be with someone?**

"**You're the head of this firm," Bovver told him as if reading his mind. "Think about it mate, someone finds out that you've got a bird, like Hatcher for example, do you honestly think someone like that is above going after her to get to you?" Registering the look in Pete's eyes Bovver knew that he had struck a chord. "What would you do then? Girls like Allie wouldn't know what to do in our world mate, she's not going to want to know you once you tell her the truth."**

**It came out sounding harsh, but having known Pete for 15 years, Bovver knew his weaknesses, and one of them without a doubt was that he put far too much trust in people. Usually the wrong people, and that was a luxury that they couldn't afford in the world that they were living in.**

**Glancing down at his pint, Pete took a deep breath and felt the fight evaporate from his body; Bovver was right. It wasn't only dangerous, but Allie lived such a different life to him; she spent her childhood in private schools and on holidays in Italy, he spent most of his childhood in fights and watching his mum trying to figure out where their next meal was coming from. Shaking his head with a laugh, he tried to work out what the hell he had been thinking; Bov had a point. The second she found out about the GSE she'd run a mile, or at least she would if she had any sense in her whatsoever.**

**Turning his gaze back to Bovver, whatever he was about to say was interrupted by the barrage of wolf whistles from the end of the bar and suddenly he remembered that he had told Allie to meet him here, so she could spend time with him and the lads again.**

**Looking up at her, Pete caught the smile on her face as she nervously nudged her way through the crowd, giving Terry who smiled at her from behind the bar a little wave as she made her way to the table.**

"**Alright, darling?" Dave asked with a wink as she stood next to Pete, hands in her back pockets, shifting from foot to foot.**

"**Yeah, good thanks, you?" she asked, smiling gratefully at Swill who patted the stool next to him. Moving behind Pete, she placed a hand on his shoulder to keep herself balanced and he cursed himself as the electricity shot through him.**

**Bovver was right, if he stopped this now then there wouldn't be a problem, but the key thing was to stop it before either of them got involved.**

_**Oh give it up, you fucking idiot, **_**he told himself **_**you've been involved with this girl from the word go. And the fact that you've kissed her, that you told her stuff about you're Daddy and the boys, the fact that you can't stop looking at her, even now, the fact that every time you think about that one kiss you feel like your chest is getting smaller and you can't breathe properly might be a fucking clue as to the fact that you **__**are**__** already involved.**_

"**Hey," her voice broke him out of his reverie and he blinked a few times. "We're going to play pool, you up for it?" leaning forward, she smiled flirtatiously. "Come on, I'll let you be on my team…"**

**He forced himself not to smile back and felt like a right bastard when he watched the smile drain from her face, confusion clouding her eyes as she stared at him in concern.**

"**Hey, are you alright?" she asked, gently rubbing a hand up his arm; jumping at the contact, he pulled back a little and stood up.**

"**Do you wanna go get some air?" he asked her, rubbing the back of his neck and trying to ignore the curious looks from the other boys. Staring up at him for a second, Allie shook her head and picked up her jacket, standing so that she was eye to eye with Pete.**

"**Is everything alright?" she asked in a quieter tone than before.**

"**Yeah, I just…" glancing at Bovver who gave him a reassuring nod, he shook his head. "I've gotta talk to you."**

**Nodding slowly, Allie shrugged into her jacket and reached for her bag.**

"**Ok," she answered, but by the time she stood up, he was already on his way out of the door. Blinking in confusion, she ignored that hurt, and turned to the rest of the boys, smiling apologetically.**

"**Sorry," she quipped half-heartedly. "Looks like I can't kick your arses tonight."**

**Turning, she followed Pete out of the pub and stepping into the cold winter air, glanced about her, catching his retreating form heading towards the riverbank. Jogging to catch up with him, she felt the air rush out of her lungs in freezing cold bursts, making her wish she had thought to bring a scarf as well.**

"**Pete!" she called, sighing when he didn't stop. Reaching out she snagged his hand and pulled him around to face her. "Oi," she asked, noticing the look on his face. "What's going on with you?"**

**Staring down into her green eyes, Pete remembered Bovver's words from earlier and forced himself to picture her that night on the train, back when she had looked so scared of Mikey and the other boys. Back when she has almost looked scared of **_**him.**_

**Taking a deep breath, he focused his attention on keeping his eyes trained on hers.**

"**This isn't going to work," he told her simply.**

"**What isn't?" she asked, genuinely confused.**

"**Us, Allie," he shot back exasperated already. He didn't want this to end, fuck, it had barely begun, but he knew that he was being unfair to her by dragging her into this. She didn't deserve it.**

"**Where's this come from?" she demanded, frowning.**

"**Oh come on," he shouted making her jump. "Don't pretend you haven't thought about it. You and me?" Pete laughed. "Allie, we're not the same people. I work in a public boys school, I live in South End and spend most of my free time in that pub." Even though it felt like glass, he continued to push the words out of his mouth, not letting himself look in her eyes anymore for fear of what he would see.**

"**You work for fucking Vogue, live in a mansion in Sloane Square and probably haven't been in a place like that in your life! You and me…it's a joke."**

"**Oh, so that's what this comes down to, you're ashamed of me, or something?" she asked calmly, her voice didn't sound angry, and that worried Pete a little bit.**

"**You know that's not it."**

"**Oh, well come on then," she took a step towards him. "What's the problem, aside from the fact that you're obviously delusional."?**

**His head shot up and Pete felt his temper snap. God, this woman was annoying.**

"**You want the truth?"**

"**Sure, hit me with it," she laughed, throwing her hands in the air in pure exasperation.**

**Moving so that he was toe to toe with her, Pete looked her firmly in the eye and fought the urge to kiss her then and there and forget about everything that Bovver had just said.**

"**You don't know me." Catching the confused look in her eyes, he shook his head.**

"**I don't know you?" she repeated. "What don't I know?"**

**Laughing bitterly, Pete moved past her and stood against the railings, his eyes focused on the reflection of the buildings behind him in the water.**

"**You don't want to know me." He told her.**

"**Oh for fuck sake Pete, I'm a big girl now, I think I can make my own decisions about who I want to know and who I don't." she replied impatiently. "Don't shut me out and don't treat me like a fucking child."  
"Alright," he shot back angrily. "You want to know everything? Here we go then…that night that I met you on the train, those blokes who were messing with you were Arsenal football firm members and we'd gotten on that train with the sole purpose of fucking them up if we saw them again. Now see what you don't know is that me and the boys in there are members of the GSE. Green Street Elite. We're a firm, a gang, whatever the fuck the papers are calling us these days, we're fighters. I've ended up in hospital four times this year already because of fighting, go back in there and take a real close look at some of the boys," he took one look at her face and wanted to stop, but he couldn't. The trace of fear and utter disappointment in her eyes is something that he knew he would never forget. "Dave has a scar above his right eye where so bloke stamped on his face, Bovver had to have an operation on his wrist last Christmas because he'd gone to deck some bloke but he ducked so he hit the wall instead…"**

**He trailed off as Allie stepped forward and looked him dead in the eye, not letting a trace of emotion show on her face.**

"**And what about you then, huh?" she asked, her voice cold and low. "Lets have a look at yours, I mean you're in charge of this bollocks so come on, let's hear it."**

"**You don't want to know about the shit I've done." He told her, his face so near hers that he could feel the warmth of her breath fighting the chill on his face. Moving to turn away from her, he was stopped when she grabbed his arm and pulled him back around to face her.**

"**Don't you dare," she ordered, her own voice rising against her will. "You cannot expect to tell me this and then walk away, it's not fair."**

**Wiping a hand across his face, Pete did not remove her hand from his arm this time; he wanted to savour the feel of her skin on his, even if it was through clothing because a part of him knew that it was a luxury that he would never get again.**

"**What do you want me to do Pete?" she asked, a slight tinge of desperation evident in her voice.**

**Sighing, he looked down at her and forced himself to say the next few words.**

"**Go home, Allie." He told her quietly, pulling her hand off his arm. "Just go home."**

**She stood there speechless for a moment, her mouth opening and closing but no words coming out. Suddenly, she laughed mirthlessly and spun around, throwing her hands up in the air.**

"**Well, this is just great, isn't it?" she asked no one in particular. "Is this why you brought me out here tonight? To fucking humiliate me and make me feel like an idiot?"**

"**Of course I didn't…" Pete started but she cut him off.**

"**Well you done a fucking excellent job of it, Pete well done," she told him, giving him a sarcastic round of applause. "You know I actually thought that you…" Shaking her head, she trailed off. What was she going to say? That she had only known him for a month but she already felt like he was someone she could fall for? That in the past six weeks he had made her feel things that a whole three months with Will hadn't? No, she felt pathetic enough without letting him know how much he had actually got to her. Looking at her feet for a moment, she let out a deep breath and looked back up at him.**

"**Fine." She told him without a trace of emotion in her voice. "You want me gone? I'm gone, bye Pete."**

**Pete watched as she turned around and began walking towards the taxi rank outside of the pub. He wanted to run after her, catch her up and explain to her that it was all bullshit, that he wanted to be with her more than anyone else and that he didn't give a shit what Bovver thought, or what impact it would have on the GSE. But the other part of him knew, or at least wanted to think that he was doing the right thing in letting her walk away.**

**He watched as she climbed into the cab and slammed the door, before the taxi pulled out of the bay and into the street. He watched until he could no longer see the red taillights and all signs of her ever being in his life disappeared.**

"**Fuck!" he shouted, picking up an empty old can and throwing it into the river with all his strength. He knitted his fingers together and rested his head on them, wishing for the first time in his life that the GSE did not exist.**

**He had no idea how long he had stood there for, but the sound of his phone ringing brought him out of his daze. Pulling it out of his pocket at looking at the lit LCD screen his heart beat faster for a second with the knowledge that maybe it was her calling, but he noticed with disappointment that the name flashing across the screen was Swill's.**

**Flipping it open, he sighed into the receiver. "Yeah?"**

"**Oi," Swill's voice travelled sharply and clearly down the phone. "Are you two done shagging yet? 'Coz I need Allie in here now, Dave's fucking taking all my money."**

**Chuckling quietly, Pete stood up straighter against the barrier.**

"**I'm on my way," he told him, flipping the phone shut with a click that seemed to echo in the silence of the riverbank.**

**Taking a deep breath he made his way back to the pub, shaking his head as he mentally prepared himself for the questions that the boys would inevitably ask. Pushing through the doors, he ignored the confused look Terry gave him and rounded the corner stopping at the head of the pool table, as Ike was in mid-shot.**

"**Oi, Oi," Swill called from the bar, where he was accepting his change before gathering all six beer bottles in his hand and making his way over to the table. "Where's Allie?"**

"**She went home," Pete glanced at Bovver who refused to return his gaze. **

"**That's a shame, mate," Dave told him, slapping him playfully on the shoulder. "You've done well, Dunham, she's a good girl."  
Frowning, Pete grabbed one of the bottles of beer and practically downed it before slamming it down on the table.**

"**Everything alright, Pete?" Dave asked with genuine concern.**

"**Yeah," Pete answered darkly. Then he turned around to meet Dave's eyes and laughed it off. "Yeah, 'course, everything's fucking fine and dandy."**

**Bovver appeared next to him, placing a reassuring hand on his mate's shoulder.**

"**So you did it then?" Pete nodded, not turning around to face Bov.**

"**Did what?" Dave asked, raising one eyebrow and laughing at the easy shot Ike still managed to miss.**

"**He broke things off with her," Bovver answered nonchalantly, ignoring Dave's reaction of dribbling most of his beer.**

"**You did what?" he shouted, shaking his head. "Oh, Pete you stupid bastard."**

"**What's all this?" Keith asked, looking up from his shot, and smacking Swill's hand away as he moved to take some of the money sat on the side.**

"**Fucking smart-arse here broke up with Allie," Dave answered, shaking his head.**

"**Yeah, alright mate," Pete shot, rubbing his face with his hands and not so subtly shrugging off Bovver's hand.**

"**Mate! What the fuck did you go and do that for?" Swill asked. "She was a top bird."**

"**Because of this," Pete shouted, shoving himself up from the table and sending a few empty bottles tumbling to the floor. "I don't want her to deal with any of our shit; she's too good for it. Remember what you said to me?" he asked nodding towards Ike. "You said that blokes like us don't get girls like that, and there's a reason for it," he sighed. "Because girls like that are too fucking good for blokes like us, they deserve more than we can give them and I'll be fucked if I'm going to make her unhappy."**

"**Well, she doesn't exactly look like a barrel of laughs right now," Dave mumbled under his breath, the smile evident in his voice.**

"**What?" Pete asked, confused. Turning to where Dave and the rest of the boys were staring he frowned at the sight of Allie storming towards him through the pub. Behind him he could have sworn he heard Bovver mumble 'fuck' under his breath, but he was too focused on the girl approaching him to really notice.**

**Not stopping until she was toe to toe with him, Allie latched her eyes onto his, the anger pouring out of them like venom.**

"**I got half way down the road and thought, what the fuck am I doing?" she told him with a laugh, her voice having an oddly singsong quality to it despite her anger. "If you want to be a complete and utter fuckwit then that's up to you, but you're going to have to give me a better reason that you did out there if you want me gone."**

**Pete forced himself not to smile as she continued to rant, her eyes flashing, her hands working over time as she gestured wildly about the air.**

"**What the fuck are you…" Pete shook his head. **

"**Everything you just told me," she made a dismissive hand gesture. "I couldn't give a fuck about…I've met scarier people than you in my time, believe me, I went to a private school. So if you don't like me anymore, if I repulse you or annoy you or whatever, just be a man and fucking say it, because if that little speech you gave me out there was to break things off and make me go away, guess what, dumb arse, it didn't work! So unless you can give me a proper reason as to why I shouldn't be here…with you, then I'm not moving and there's piss all you can do about it." She folded her arms as though to emphasis her point and regarded him seriously, trying to read his expression.**

**Finally, after about a minute of just staring at her in shock and realising in that one moment, just how much he had underestimated this girl, he spoke.**

"**Are you done?" he asked her.**

**Her mouth fell open and she narrowed her eyes at him.**

"**Fuck you!" she shot back. "At least I've got the balls to tell people what's really going on with me as opposed to using scare tactics like some fucking school boy."**

**The rest of the boys clamped their mouths shut so that they wouldn't laugh; they had to hand it to this girl, she had balls. There were only a handful of people in the world that would stand in front of Pete Dunham and talk to him like that. But this girl had no fear in her eyes, only anger, and to be honest that made her scarier than any of the boys would ever want to admit.**

**Standing up so that he towered above her slight 5"6 inch frame, Pete looked down at her for a moment before grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the doors that opened up into the corridor where the bathrooms were. Closing the door behind them and shutting out the stares of curiosity and amusement, Pete watched her carefully as she leaned back against the wall, still awaiting his response.**

**Turning to face her, he rubbed his chin and gave up trying to suppress his smile; she glared back at him for a moment before she felt a smile tug at her own mouth.**

"**What?" she demanded, trying to get her face back into a scowl so that he would know how much he had pissed her off.**

"**You must be pretty dumb to come back here after everything I told you," he told her, raising an eyebrow.**

"**God, do you listen, at all…ever?" she asked in exasperation. "I don't give a crap about what you've done..."**

"**Maybe you should."**

"**And maybe you should stop bloody telling me how to feel!" she burst out, running her hands through her hair in frustration. "Look," she sighed, flopping her arms down by her sides, feeling the fight evaporating from her body. Maybe she had hit the nail on the head out there; maybe he just didn't want to be with her like she thought he did, in which case she was making a major arse out of herself but the time for caring had long since passed.**

"**It's just you and me now, so if you don't want to be with me, just tell me, ok?" she met his eyes and pleaded with him. "I just don't want to be messed around because I…I like you, alright? I like you a lot and I thought…I wanted to think that the feeling was mutual." She trailed off and stared down at her Pucci boots, the patent leather contrasting with the sticky red floor that obviously hadn't seen a mop in years.**

"**You think I don't like you?" Pete asked her in shock.**

"**Well, Jesus Pete, what would you think?" she asked, shrugging and fighting to keep the volume of her voice under control, but dear God this man was annoying. "One minute you're kissing me and telling me about how you grew up and the next you're dragging me out of the pub that you invited me to in the first place and telling me that it's not working out." She looked him in the eye and moved a little bit closer as though approaching a scared animal. "Look, I get that we're different, but did you ever think that that's maybe a reason for it to work? I mean, Christ, how boring would it be if we were exactly the same?"**

"**I want you," Pete told her honestly, liking the way her breath caught in her throat when he said that. "You know that. But if being with you means exposing you to…"**

"**To what?" she asked, taking another step towards him. "So you fight." She shrugged. "So what? Am I thrilled about it? No. Is it going to worry me? Yes. Is it going to make me like you any less? No." she told him earnestly, reaching out and placing a hand on his face. "I know that you think that I'm going to turn my back on you just because I might not understand why you choose to do this, but Pete; I don't care about any of that, ok? I just care about **_**you."**_

**Pete removed her hand from his face and he turned to face the wall, lacing his hands together behind his head. Blinking back the tears, Allie had never felt so stupid in her life; she had thought that he liked her, that he cared about her, enough to spare her feelings at least.**

"**I need a minute." He told her, still facing the wall. "Because once I do this, there's no going back."**

"**Do what?" she asked bitterly, not even caring anymore. She just wanted to get out of there.**

"**This." And with that, Pete spun around and grabbed her by the waist, kissing her with such force that had it not been for the wall behind her, Allie was sure that they both would have fallen backwards onto the floor. It took less than a second for her to start kissing him back, her arms going around his neck, trying to get as close to him as possible. After a few minutes, Pete pulled away from her, both of them gulping down much needed air.**

"**Are you sure about this?" he asked her, one hand trailing up her side to tuck a stand of hair behind her ear.**

**Smiling at him, she tilted her head as if pretending to think for a second; meeting his blue eyes, she rested back against the wall and bit her lip, trying to get rid of her smile. Unable to think of anything to say, she simply nodded and let the grin take over her face.**

"**Are you?" she asked, nervously.**

**Smiling at her, Pete shook his head and laughed softly.**

"**Since that first night on the train." He told her honestly.**

**Leaning back even further, she raised an eyebrow at him incredulously.**

"**Oh, yeah?" she questioned, the smile evident in her voice. "And, uh, what exactly made you so sure that I'd go for a thug like you?" she teased.**

"**Thug?" he shot back, pretending to be offended. "Piss off, you were flirting with me from the start." He leant in so that his face was inches from hers. "Besides, I'm by far the prettiest one in the group so it was inevitable that you'd want me…"**

**Laughing and shoving him playfully, she pulled him closer by his jacket and winced.**

"**So does this mean that i'm your _girlfriend_?" Allie asked, pretend horror in her voice as her eyes widened at the prospect.**

"**Fuck, yeah, it looks like it," Pete told her regretfully, even though there was a blatant smile on his face.**

"**Oh God help me." She answered, her laughter only silenced when his mouth came crashing back down onto hers.**


	9. Chapter 9

**THREE MONTHS LATER**

"**So how do you know Steve and Shannon?" Allie looked at the slightly older man in front of her who had somehow managed to corner her about half an hour ago and was yet to let her escape. She'd been beyond nervous about coming to Steve and Shannon's wedding without having even met them yet, but so far she was having a great time. Well, at least until she had made the mistake of saying hello to James, one of Steve's workmates. **

"**Oh, I'm Pete's girlfriend," she told him, putting a little more emphasis on the word girlfriend; this guy hadn't exactly been subtle since he'd started talking to her. In fact, she was just waiting for him to pull out the big guns and hit her with**

'**So, do you come her often?'.**

"**Christ," he laughed. "Pete Dunham managed to get himself a decent girl for once, wonders will never bloody cease."**

"**Sorry?" Allie frowned at him, briefly wondering how many of those drink's had had tonight. **

"**Oh, I didn't mean anything by it," he shook his head. "I just meant you're…" he looked her up and down. "You're a lovely girl and Pete's a bit…" James shrugged his shoulders and trailed off, peering into his half empty glass and winking at her. **

**Feeling a bit nauseous, Allie forced herself to smile back at him whilst pulling self consciously at the top of her chiffon pale turquoise strapless dress, Allie glanced around, biting her lip nervously when she realised that she couldn't see Dave or Pete anywhere. When she had gotten her invite to the wedding, Pete had told her that Dave was the only one of the boys attending because he was the only one that Steve trusted to be on his best behaviour. Luckily for Allie, Dave was the one she was closest to out of all of Pete's mates, but that wasn't helping her at this point in time when she couldn't bloody find him anywhere. **

_**Great**_**, she thought tiredly.**

"**Well, um, James," she tried, hoping that she had remembered his name, noting that he made no objections, Allie wondered whether it was because his name really was James or whether he was so pissed, he wouldn't noticed if she called him Susan right now. "It's been lovely talking to you, but I should really go and find Pete,"**

"**Nice to meet you, too." He shook her hand, holding on a bit longer than she would have liked. "See you around,"**

**Timidly pushing her way through the crowd, she realised she had no idea where she was headed, but it was better than talking to James or standing there like some social retard just gawking at everyone. **

**One of the boys had to be around here somewhere. Trying to see above the crowd of people, Allie felt her stomach sink when she still couldn't spot them. Backing up, she tripped over someone's foot and a familiar hand caught her arm before she could fall backward. **

"**Alright, stranger?" Pete asked her, looking down at her with a grin on his face that made her heart jump. "I thought I'd lost you for a while there."**

**Smiling back at him, Allie turned around to face him, not letting go of his hand. **

"**You wish," she joked, narrowing her eyes playfully at him. Pulling her closer, Pete laughed and lowered his face so that it was inches from hers; taking a moment to note the soft pink of her lips, the playful sparkle in her eye, the flowery scent mixed with cinnamon and something else exotic that seemed to be emanating from her skin. **

"**Nice speech by the way," she told, him forcing her eyes away from his lips for a moment. "I think I saw your Mum crying…apparently you can be pretty charming when you want to be." **

**Rolling his eyes, Pete smiled. "And that wasn't even my A-game," he joked.**

"**Well, if that's true then I am completely screwed," she sighed dramatically, shaking her head. Meeting his eyes again, she saw the affection that was always there, along with something else. Something that had only been there recently; something that both of them were far too scared to acknowledge.**

"**So, Steve and Shannon are through with waiting, and I think they might want to meet you," he told her, seeing the fear from earlier creep back into her eyes.**

"**Why?" she asked suspiciously. "What have you told them about me?"**

"**Nothing," he shrugged. "If I told them the truth, they'd accuse me of being a lying bastard, that and it's going make my day seeing their reactions."**

"**See now that is what every girl wants to hear, 'I'm dating you to shock my family'" she shook her head and sighed dramatically. **

"**Come on," he told her, still chuckling. Personally, he couldn't wait to see Steve and Shannon's faces; if their reactions where anything like the boys then this would be classic. **

**Taking a deep breath, Allie followed Pete through the crowd and felt the bats return to her stomach with a vengeance when Shannon and Steve came into view. **

**What if they hated her? What if she said something stupid? What if she seemed too forward and asked too many questions? What if she just turned and ran like hell right now? Pete would understand, right?**

"**We were about to send out a search party for you," Steve joked when Pete walked up to them. **

"**Yeah well," Pete tightened his grip on Allie's hand letting her know that she had nothing to worry about. "Steve, Shannon, this is my girlfriend Allie." **

**Looking past his brother to the young woman stood behind him, Steve felt his eyes widen; she was anything other than what he had been expecting. She was beautiful, her green eyes glittering as she held out her hand and smiled at him. **

**Snapping out of his reverie, Steve smiled back and shook her hand enthusiastically. **

"**Hi," she surprised herself by how calm her voice was. "It's really good to finally meet you both,"**

"**Yeah, well it's nice to finally meet the girl my brother's been yapping on about for three months," he told her, smiling when she raised an eyebrow and laughed. **

"**You were yapping?" she asked Pete sceptically. **

"**Yeah, yeah," he blushed. "And this is my sister-in-law, Shannon."**

**Smiling at the absolutely stunning older woman with the arctic blue eyes and warm smile, Allie leaned forward and kissed her cheek.**

"**Congratulations," she smiled, glancing between the two of them. "You're dress is incredible," **

**Still slightly in shock of the incredibly beautiful young woman in front of her, Shannon smiled back. **

"**Thank you," she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Listen I wouldn't mind grabbing some champagne before I have to start making the rounds and talking to all the people that I don't really like," Shannon told her with a roll of her eyes. "You want to come with?"**

"**Sure," Allie smiled. "Sounds good." Turning to Pete she grinned at him and let go of his hand. "I'll see you in a second?"**

**Nodding, he smiled back at her and watched as she and Shannon made their way to the bar. **

"**Fucking hell, how've you managed that?" Steve asked once the girls were out of earshot. Turning to face his brother, Pete frowned. **

"**What?" **

"**Allie," he nodded towards the bar where she and Shannon were laughing at something Shannon's dad was saying. "She's…"**

"**Incredible?" Pete asked. **

"**Well…yeah," Steve laughed. "How in the hell did you pull someone like her?"**

**Putting his arm around his brother's shoulder, Pete laughed.**

"**Now that bruv, is a story and a half,"**

**Pete grinned as he watched Allie twirling around the dance floor with Shannon, the younger bridesmaids and flower girls trying their best to imitate their moves. It had taken a good twenty minutes but he had managed to convince his brother that Allie was actually his girlfriend, but now as he stood watching her, he found it difficult to believe himself. How something so beautiful and so perfect had chosen to be with him over anyone else, he would never understand. **

**Suddenly, the song changed, a slow tune flowing through the large hall and creating a haunting echo. **

"**Bollocks, that's my queue," Steve laughed, handing Pete his glass of champagne and making his way towards Shannon. Nodding, Pete glanced out towards the dance floor where Steve's work friend was making his way over to Allie, practically leering at her as he did so. **

**Narrowing his eyes, Pete practically threw the empty glass onto the table next to him and made his way out onto the dance floor, grabbing Allie's hand before the guy could get to her. **

"**Willing to risk personal injury?" He asked her with a grin. **

"**With you?" she winked. "Always,"**

**Smiling, Pete pulled her to him, letting one hand rest in the curve of her hip, and holding her other hand to his chest. Laughing, Allie gazed up at him, shaking her head. **

"**One our second date, you told me that you couldn't dance," she told him. "You're doing pretty well for a…what did you call yourself? Oh, that was it…a rhythmic retard?"**

**Pete laughed, and met her eyes with a shrug. **

"**No actually, I said I didn't dance," he reminded her with a nod. "Not that I couldn't dance…it just depends on the girl,"**

"**Oh," she nodded her eyes wide. "So just how many girls have seen your dance moves?"**

"**You would be the first." he leant in and whispered it as though it were some kind of dangerous secret. **

"**Good to know," she smiled as his mouth got closer to hers. **

**Pulling away after a short moment, Pete felt his heart stopped as he saw that her eyes were still closed, the shimmering glow on her skin from the fairy lights above them making her look like some kind of angel as she licked the taste of his kiss off of her lips. Right then, that was when he wanted to tell her; he had known for the last few weeks that he was in love with her, on some much scarier level, he thought that he had loved her all along, but he was yet to tell her this, afraid that she would think he was moving to fast and run away. **

"**Hey," she whispered, snapping him out of his reverie. "Are you ok?"**

"**Never been better," he told her honestly, softly kissing her hair as she rested her head against his chest, unbeknownst to him, thinking exactly the same things. **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Ok, so first off thank you to all the wonderful people who've left me reviews. I was more than a little scared about posting this story so it's nice to know that at you guys like it so much! This is a major Pete/Allie chapter, their relationship gets a lot more serious in this and the nxt ch, plus ch. 11 has a fair bit of GSE action in it. So enjoy and don't forget to review! **

"**Fuck me, its freezing!" Pete breathed, practically falling into his flat with Allie right behind him still clutching his hand. Having been among the last to leave the wedding reception at just gone 1am, they had decided to make the best of the early morning warmth and walked home from the tube station…at which point it had started pouring with rain, dissolving all the warmth from the air and saturating both Pete and Allie as they legged it the whole way back to his flat. **

"**You alright?" he looked at her as she stood there shivering but with a definite smile on her face. Reaching out, he gently rubbed her arms and pulled her to him, walking them both further into the living room and snatching the throw off of the back of the sofa, draping it around her bare shoulders. **

"**I'm fine," she laughed. "Wish I could say the same for my shoes though," she held up the completely wrecked pair of Jimmy Choo's that she had 'borrowed' from work to go with her dress. **

"**Shit, sorry," Pete winced, knowing that it was his fault because he had suggested they take the short cut through the park…and the mud. "I got your dress as well,"**

"**Don't worry about it," she waved her had dismissively. "At least we made it back alive," she grinned when Pete gently pulled a twig out of her hair. "Barely."**

"**You need to get out of those clothes," Pete told her, frowning at the goose bumps on her skin. **

"**Subtle," Allie laughed, raising an eyebrow at her boyfriend and trying not to blush. Even though they had been together for almost three months now, they were yet to take that particular step in their relationship; that wasn't to say that nothing had happened between them. It had…oh, boy had it. Allie silently cursed herself as she felt the blush creeping up her neck; but neither of them had ever been in a relationship like this before, and if she was honest she was scared of ruining it. Scared of giving letting him in so completely that she'd never be able to let go, and as much as she loved him, Pete didn't seem like the kind of guy you could tie down. **

"**Alright smart arse," Pete grinned at her. "I'll go find you something before you get fucking pneumonia." Pulling her down the hallway with him, he pushed open the door to his bedroom and Allie looked around curiously having never been in here before. **

**It was…nice; there were photos of him and Steve with their mum and who she assumed was his dad when they were kids, a few of him with his class and…**

"**When did you get this?" she held up the photo of the two of them. It had obviously been taken without either of them knowing as they walked hand in hand through a snowy Hyde Park laughing at something. **

"**What?" Pete glanced up from where he was still rummaging through his closet and squinted to see what she was holding. "Oh, uh, I think Lara took it." He shrugged, standing up and handing her a pair of boxers and a jumper. "I nicked it out of the pile of photos on your kitchen table."**

"**It's really nice," she smiled, putting it back where she found it and turning towards him. "Nice bowl cut by the way," she giggled, pointing to the photo of himself and Steve. **

"**Fuck off," he laughed. "I was six, and it was the 80's, I had no say in it," **

"**Hey, I'm not saying anything," Allie held her hands up innocently. "I think you look cute," she looked at the photo closer and laughed. "For a hoodlum that is; what's with the black eye?"**

"**Steve fucking kicked me in the face on the swings the day before," he shook his head at the memory. "Not that it was a bad thing…birds dig the whole wounded look."**

"**I'm sure," Allie rolled her eyes and picking up the jumper he'd placed beside her on the dresser. "Is this going to fit?" **

"**You're having a laugh aren't you?" he smirked, holding the jumper against her and laughing when he realised it went to just above her knees. **

"**Hey, it's not my fault my ancestors were all bloody midgets," she took the jumper out of his hands and tossed it onto the bed. "Sod off so I can get dressed."**

**Winking at her, Pete moved to walk past her, placing a soft kiss on her bare shoulder as he went, not letting himself think about how good she tasted, or whether the rest of her skin tasted the same…or the fact that there was a bed less than five feet away from them. Shutting the door, he took a deep breath trying to determine when he'd turned into horny 16 year old again? **

**A sudden flash of lightening lit up the darkened living room, a loud clap of thunder following soon after. Pulling off his suit jacket and shirt, he reached into the wash basket, yanking out the first thing he could find and slipping the white t-shirt over his head as he walked blindly into the kitchen and switched on the kettle. **

**Watching the door shut behind him, Allie reached up and began to undo her necklace, wincing when she realised that the rain had caused it to become tangled up in her hair. **

"**Ow, shit!" she hissed as she tried tugging it once more, only to pull out what seemed to be a substantial chunk of hair. **

"**You alright in there?" Pete called through the door, trying not to laugh as another string of curse words left her mouth. **

"**Uh, yeah," she called back with a laugh. "My necklace is lodged in my hair and I think if I pull it anymore I'm risking baldness,"**

"**Need some help?" he asked, peeking around the corner of the door and grinning at her as she stood looking at him, one hand holding her hair up the other infused in the tangle at the nape of her neck. **

"**Do you mind?" she asked, tilting her head to one side.**

"**Turn around," he instructed her, taking a deep breath as she did so, her body brushing against his, her scent filling his nose and making him forget what he was doing. Taking a deep breath, he gently began untangling the chain from her honey coloured hair which had begun to curl as it dried, pulling a strand, he felt Allie flinch and immediately stopped. **

"**Am I hurting you?" he asked her softly. **

"**No, you're fine." She told him, biting her lip to keep her voice in check; the feel of his hands against her naked skin was amazing and it just made her realise that she wanted more of that feeling. **

"**Almost got it," he whispered to her, grinning with pride when he successfully extracted the jewel from her hair and handed it to her over her shoulder. "Done,"**

"**Hey," she smiled, taking it out of his hand and looking down at the small diamond daisy charm in her hand. "And I still have most of my hair, you're officially my hero," she joked, smiling over her shoulder at him. **

**Meeting his eyes, she saw that there was no humour there, only that same intense look from earlier that made her stomach flip flop. His blue eyes reminded her of an ocean as he gazed at her, a light green hidden in the sapphire depths. Allie shivered slightly when she saw his gaze drift down to her lips, and she took a deep shuddering breath as he gently cupped her face in his hand, tilting it up to his. **

**Pete was sure he felt his heart stop at the feel of her lips under his, so soft and eager as she lifted a hand to clutch at the damp material of his shirt. Another clap of thunder sounded outside the window, but this time, she didn't seem to care, turning in his arms and letting him deepen the kiss, moaning quietly as his tongue brushed against hers. **

**Pulling away, Pete gently rubbed his face against hers, his hands running up and down her arms, liking the way she breathlessly whispered his name before kissing his earlobe. **

**Leaning his head down, he began kissing her shoulder, moving up to her neck and sucking gently on the pulse point, hearing her gasp, he sucked harder, the animalistic wave washing through his determined to leave a mark. Licking the red mark he had left, Pete met her eyes again seeing the lust within them mirroring his own; brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes, he kissed her forehead and whispered her name. **

**His eyes snapped open when he felt her fingers working the buttons on his shirt; he couldn't let this happen without her knowing how he felt…she wasn't like the girls he had been with before, he needed to her to know how much he loved her, how important she was to him. **

"**Allie," he mumbled, his brain not functioning like it should as she leaned down at ran her tongue over the skin of his chest. **

"**Fuck, I want you so much," he whispered, pulling her mouth back to his and feeling her lips curve up into a smile. Pulling away from her, he looked into her emerald eyes, his heart quickening as he prepared to say the words that he had never said to anyone before in his life. **

"**I love you," he whispered, watching her eyes widen. She stared back at him for a long moment and Pete felt his stomach sink; the first time in his life he'd ever said those words to a girl and he'd somehow managed to fuck it up. **

"**Pete," she smiled softly, reaching up and kissing him with all she had in her. "I love you, too." Kissing him again, she pushed herself as close to him as she could possibly get, sighing as his arms tightened around her, lifting her off of the floor. "Make love to me," she whispered, meeting his eyes and letting him know that she meant it, that she was sure. She got her answer when Pete kissed her hard, his hand tangling in her soft hair while the other gently stroked her hip through her dress. **

**Picking her up, Pete placed her on the edge of his dresser, ignoring the various items that fell to the floor and moving to stand in between her legs as she threw his shirt to the ground, bending her head and placing open mouthed kisses along his chest, making her way up his throat and back to his mouth. He held her there, not wanting to let her go as her hands moved to unbuckle his belt; resting his head in the crook of her neck and moaning her name. Once he felt her unzip his trousers, Pete stepped out of them, not wasting a moment before pulling her back into his arms and kissing her thoroughly; letting a hand drift down from her face, he toyed with the zipper on the side of her dress, unsure of whether he was moving too fast, the thought soon pushed out of his head as Allie's tongue swept over his lips, her arms locking around his neck as she pressed her body even closer to his. Picking her up once more, Pete walked them over to his bed, breaking their kiss for a moment as he gently lay her down before lowering himself down to her waiting arms. He pulled down the zip on her dress and cursed as he realised his hands were shaking slightly; he tugged the material down her body and bit back a moan as she kicked it off onto the floor, leaving her lying underneath him in only her underwear. **

**The green and black lace contrasted against her alabaster skin, almost making her glow; Pete smiled at the little noises escaping her throat as he ran his fingers over the newly exposed skin, dipping his head and kissing his way down her throat, across her collar bone and down to the valley between her breasts. Eventually making his way back up to claim her lips once more, Pete wondered if this was actually happening; maybe there was a chance that Mikey had beaten him into a coma that night on the tube and this was all a big, long dream. He growled slightly as Allie lightly scrapped her fingernails across his shoulders and decided that if this was a dream, he would rather die than wake up. Sitting up and pulling her with him so that she was practically sat in his lap, Pete ran his tongue down Allie's throat causing her to throw her head back and moan, her hands moving feverishly up and down his back. Reaching around, he Pete found the clasp of her bra and released it, throwing the offensive material to one side and letting his mouth drift lower to taste the newly revealed flesh. **

"**Oh my God, Pete!" Allie cried, digging her nails into the back of his neck as he cupped her sensitive breasts. His hands ran down over her stomach to gently stroke her thighs, and he smiled against her skin as she let out a long sigh. He kisses continued to move lower, down over her taut stomach all the way to her toes at which point she giggled, for a second frightened she had spoiled the mood but then she felt Pete's own laughter against her knee and grinned.**

**Moving back up her body, Pete seized her lips again, his tongue swiping at her lips demanding entrance to her mouth which she granted willingly; dear God, this man knew how to kiss. She could feel her body responding to his ministrations and even though she hated herself for it, knew that she wouldn't be able to hold on much longer. And it seemed unfair that she was having all the fun…with a grin, she pushed Pete onto his back, catching the surprised look he gave her before crashing her mouth back down onto his. **

**Allie trailed her hands down to his chest, liking the way his muscles twitched under her fingertips as his own hands buried themselves in her hair. Moving down, she sucked gently on the skin of his neck feeling the blood rushing beneath her lips and bit down gently; he moaned and Allie smiled against his skin with womanly satisfaction as she felt him pressing hard against her leg. Running her fingers down his chest, her mouth followed suit gently tracing the lines of his tattoo with her tongue as her fingers bravely drifted down to the faint trail of hair that disappeared into his boxers. **

"**Allie!" Pete hissed, bucking his hips as she brushed against him through the black cotton. Pete squeezed his eyes shut as her mouth moved lower on his stomach, his control was slipping and if she carried on this way, it would be non-existent. Resting his hands on her hips, he kneaded the skin before trailing one hand up her stomach and in between her breasts until he was cupping the side of her face. **

**Opening his eyes, he watched as she bit her lip, her green eyes darkening as her fingers danced over the elastic band of his boxers. Before she could make another move, Pete dipped his own hand into her green and black silk panties, watching as she threw her head back, crying out his name loudly. Allie squeezed her eyes shut as the pleasure washed through her body, biting her lip as she rocked gently against his hand.**

"**Baby, please," she moaned, opening her eyes a second later and finding Pete above her, his eyes darkening as he watched the sheer bliss on her face. **

**When had he managed to do that? She thought with a frown. **

**She almost cried out in protest when Pete removed his hand, pulling away from her slightly as he pushed his boxers down his legs, kicking them off onto the floor. Grinning, he caught the faint blush on her cheeks as she looked at him, biting her lip in anticipation; Allie had only been with two guys before Pete, her first boyfriend in college when she was 17 and then Will; shuddering at the thought of the latter, all thoughts were pushed out of her head when Pete brushed a strand of hair out of her face, gently kissing her lips as his hands stalled on the waist band of her underwear. **

**She met his bright blue eyes, shivering slightly at the love and intensity she saw in them. Noticing the slight uncertainty there, Allie raised her hips, encouraging him to remove the last barrier between them; gently sliding the material down her legs, Pete swallowed hard and tried to maintain his control as she lay before him completely naked. Feeling Allie tug his hand, he looked up and saw the concern in her eyes; he sent her a fast, reassuring smile as he fell back on top of her, groaning her name at the feel of her body beneath his. **

**Allie cried out as he began to suck on her neck, his mouth pressing harder against the skin when her legs tightened around him; Pete hissed her name as she lifted her hips up to his, their bodies subconsciously moving in the rhythm that they both wanted to badly to give in to. **

**Linking her hand with his, Pete pressed a gently kiss against her ear, giving them both a second to calm down; he could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest, her breath coming out in harsh pants as he rested against her for a minute. His fingers lazily grazed her sides and he smiled against her as she giggled at the sensation; it was all becoming too much, and Pete knew that in a second he would be too far gone to think about any of it. Pulling away for a moment, he pushed himself up onto his elbows and looked at her; her green eyes wide as she looked up at him, so open and trusting, it almost scared him, her lips reddened and slightly swollen from his kisses, the fast developing marks he had left on her neck, the gentle smile she gave him as she reached up to cup his cheek. **

"**Are you ok?" she whispered, shuddering when he kissed her palm. **

**Looking at her for a long moment, Pete could feel himself shaking; he knew that he should be thinking about the GSE, about the danger her could be putting her in, about how unfair it was on her that she had to put up with all his bullshit. But he couldn't; all he could think about was how amazing she was, how incredible she felt beneath him, fitting there so perfectly, like they'd been made for this. **

"**Never better," he promised her with a grin, lowering his lips back down to hers. So maybe Pete Dunham didn't deserve perfection, but here it was, waiting for him…and who was he to say no? **


	11. Chapter 11

**Pete smiled down at Allie as she slept, watching the sunlight streaming in from the bedroom window create patterns on her naked back; the sheets had been pulled down almost the whole way down her back, leaving a large expanse of creamy, soft looking skin open to his view as she lay on her stomach. He lightly ran his hand down from her neck to the curve of her hip where he could just about see the very tip of her little lady bird tattoo; she'd told him that it was the nickname her mother had given her when she was a little girl, and it was one of the few things Allie could fully remember about her. **

**It would never really hit him how this beautiful thing next to him had chosen above everyone else to be with him; she'd given herself to him completely, giving up every secret, every fear she had just to be with him. It was insane. **

**Pete was so lost in her that he almost missed the loud knocking on his door a second later, glancing down, he checked that it hadn't woken Allie up and placed a gentle kiss on her shoulder before getting up, pulling on his boxers and walking through his flat to where someone was still pounding on the front door. **

**Yanking it open, he shook his head wondering why he was surprised to see it was Bovver; the knocking should have given it away. Whereas normal people knocked, Bovver thumped.**

"**What're you doing here?" Pete pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed the last of the sleep out of his eyes. He had no idea what time it was, but noticing the amount of sunlight in the living room he was guessing that it was pretty late. **

"**Tell me you're joking?" Bovver shook his head. "Pete, we've got a fucking meet in two hours."**

"**What time is it?" he frowned, glancing at the clock on the kitchen wall and blinking in surprise. It was just gone midday. "Fuck,"**

"**What're you playing at son?" Bovver walked past him and into the flat, stopping when he noticed the purse and high heeled shoes next to the coffee table. "Oh you're having a bubble," he laughed bitterly. "I come over here to sort out how today's supposed to go down and I've got you playing doctor with some fucking bird?"**

"**Keep you're fucking voice down," Pete hissed glancing down the hallway and making sure he'd remembered to close the bedroom door. **

"**You're the head of this firm," Bov stepped up, getting in his face. "You need to remember that."**

"**And so do you," Pete snapped. "Just piss off will you? We'll deal with this later."**

"**What?" Bovver snorted in disgust. "When you're done playing the role of the fucking doting lover boy? It's pathetic, Pete."**

"**Watch it Bov," he warned him, grabbing his arm a little too hard. "Because you do not want to fucking cross that line with me,"**

"**Can't you see what she's doing to this firm?" Bov shouted, not caring about the woman in the bedroom. "If we show up tonight without you, because you're with her, that turns us into a fucking laughing stock. Or do you even care anymore?"**

"**Of course I care," Pete narrowed his eyes at his best mate; Christ he could be so dramatic. "So what are you saying I can't have both?"**

"**And what if that is what it comes down to, Pete?" Bov looked at him seriously. "What the fuck are you going to do then?"**

**Pete stared back at him for a long moment; Allie or the GSE? He knew it would never come to that, she would never make him chose…but if he did. There was no question what his answer would be. **

"**She's my girlfriend, Bov," he spoke slowly, his voice eerily calm. "And if you've got a problem with that, then it's only your fucking problem because no one else seems to have trouble with it. So my advice right now would be to go home and sort yourself out," turning away from him, Pete left him to find his own way out. **

"**What about tonight?" Bov called, frowning when Pete disappeared into his bedroom without replying. Shaking his head in disgust, Bovver walked out of the flat, slamming the door as hard as he could physically manage. Why was it that no one else could tell this girl was was going to be fucking trouble for them? **

**Turning the corner to the tube station, he slammed a bin over on to its side as he walked past causing a couple who were walking beside him to jump and look at him as though he was mad. If Pete didn't want any part in it, that was fine, but someone had to run this firm…the other option didn't even bear thinking about. **

"**You ok?" Allie asked as she watched Pete shut the door gently behind him, leaning against it for a moment. **

"**Morning sunshine," he smiled at her, trying to put all thoughts of Bovver to the back of his mind. She'd changed into his t-shirt which had been abandoned on the floor the night before, her petite frame swamped by the white material as it contrasted nicely against her slight tan. "Did we wake you up?"**

"**I uh," she ran a hand through her hair. "I heard the shouting and then realised you weren't in bed." Standing up, Allie made her way over to him, resting her head against his chest as his arms came up around her waist. "What happened?"**

"**Bovver," Pete shook his head. "He was just being a prick as usual," tilting her face up to his; he leant down and kissed her. "Nothing to worry about."**

**Smiling against her mouth when she started kissing him back a little harder, Pete pulled her up into his arms and grinned. "How you feeling?"**

"**Hmmm," she linked her arms around his neck, pretending not to notice that he was walking them back over to the bed. "Pretty damn good actually," she leant down and kissed him painstakingly slowly. "You?"**

"**Not bad," he mumbled. "I need a shower though," he placed her kneeling on the edge of the bed and stood in front of her, unable to resist the expanse of her shoulder that was revealed by his oversized t-shirt. **

"**Was that a suggestion or an invitation?" she giggled. **

"**Bit of both," Pete laughed, playfully tugging on her bottom lip before sucking it into his mouth. "How long have you got?"**

"**Enough time for you to make me breakfast," she smiled sweetly. **

"**Now who's fucking subtle," he grinned, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the bathroom. **

"**Ok, live with Lara for three years and you'll learn that good pancakes are hard to come by," she told him seriously, laughing when he pulled her to him and pressed his lips against her neck, blindly turning on the shower with his other free hand. **

"**And what makes you think I'm just going to make you breakfast for nothing?" his voice coming out muffled by her skin. **

"**Because you love me," she laughed. "And because if you don't then I'll end up doing it and I think we both remember the last time I cooked."**

"**Remember it?" Pete laughed as he kissed his way up her jaw to her lips gently. "It haunts my dreams."**

"**Yeah well there you go then," she shrugged, pulling off his t-shirt and throwing it at his head before jumping into the shower. "And plus, who said you'd be cooking me breakfast for nothing."**

**Giggling at the look on his face, Allie squealed when he practically dived into the shower and pulled her to him, trying not to think about everything she had heard him and Bovver saying this morning. She got that the firm meant a lot to him, but the way Pete had gone silent when Bovver had asked him what'd he'd do if he ever had to chose between her and the GSE had worried her a little. He loved her, that much she knew, but what she didn't know was if it would be enough. **


	12. Chapter 12

"**That last goal was fucking beautiful!" Pete shouted, following Ike and Keith into the pub with Dave, Swill and Bovver tagging behind him. It had only just gone three but the alcohol swimming through his blood stream was making his body think otherwise. Pushing through the doors the usual smell of food and spilt beer welcomed them, giving the feeling of almost coming home. **

"**Yeah but it was fucking close," Swill told him walking backwards and very nearly knocking over a boy with a pint of beer who Pete guessed couldn't have been more than 15. "Did you see how it almost curled round the post; I was shitting my pants at that point,"**

"**Fuck off did it curl!" Dave laughed, leaning against the bar. **

"**What game were you watching?" **

"**Maybe if you weren't pissed out of your head…"**

**Pete shook his head laughing at the boys as they continued to bicker, even bringing Terry into the conversation who up until they came in had been sat behind the bar quietly reading his paper. Catching the faint sound of his phone ringing over the music in the bar, Pete reached into his pocket fumbling around until he triumphantly held it up, grinning when he saw **_**'Allie' **_**on the screen. **

"**Alright gorgeous?" he smiled into the receiver suddenly feeling the need to brace himself on the bar. **

"**Wow," she laughed. "So on a scale of one to ten, just how pissed are you?"**

"**Six?" he frowned, not entirely sure. "I don't know…maybe eight?"**

"**Well, can you walk in a straight line?" she grinned, teasing him. **

"'**Course."**

"**Uh huh, could you drive?"**

"**Shit, no,"**

"**What if I wanted to have sex?" **

"**I'd walk in a straight line out to my car, drive to your house and give it my best shot." He grinned as she laughed down the phone. **

"**Such a gentleman," she told him once her giggles had finally subsided. "Listen I know you're busy, but I just wondered if you're in tonight could I come over? It's just Lara has a date and I get the impression they want the house to themselves."**

"**Come over at about 7," he told her. "I should be back, but if I'm not just use the key under the matt,"**

"**Ok, have fun with the boys," she smiled. "Listen, I gotta go, but I'll see you later, ok?"**

"**I love you," Pete told her, grimacing at the pint Terry placed in front of him. His stomach was telling him not to drink any more, but he had tomorrow to recover so what was the harm…**

"**Pete?" Allie laughed. "Maybe try a glass of water after the next one, ok?"**

"**I'm fine," he protested. "I just love you."**

"**I know," she giggled. "I love you too, now go have fun, I'll talk to you later."**

"**Bye," Pete mumbled, flipping the phone closed and reaching reluctantly for his pint. He'd almost wanted her to come down to the pub and see him, wincing he realised how fucking pathetic that was. When did he get so whipped that that the idea of spending a mere four hours without seeing her almost caused physical pain? **

"**I love you?" Terry raised his eyebrows and grinned. "Well, given Bovver's already here so it couldn't have been him on the phone, I'm going to take a shot and say that was your lady?"**

**Taking a second to flip him the finger whilst he took a long sip of beer, Pete shook his head. **

"**Things are going well then?" Terry asked, leaning on the bar. "You're big brother tells me its getting pretty serious."**

"**Well given he had a fiver riding on her dumping me within a month, I'm not fucking surprised he's shocked," Pete told him with a wry grin. If he was honest, he knew that was what most people assumed would happen; Allie would one day wake up and realise that she was wasting her time with someone like him when she could have any bloke she wanted. Truth be told, Pete still wasn't convinced that that still wasn't a threat. **

"**I'm pleased for you mate," Pete looked up at the older man, prepared to snap back at him, but saw he was being completely serious. "She's a really good girl,"  
Reaching across the bar, Terry playfully slapped him across the face. "Now just try not to fuck it up,"**

**Watching him walk back over to the other side of the bar, Pete grinned and followed him, coming to a stop next to Dave who winked at him, lightly clinking his pint glass against Pete's before they walked over to the table. **

"**Oi, you tarts," Terry yelled at them. "Don't suppose one of you fancies paying me, do you?"**

**No one answered; they just stared at Dave with cheeky grins on their faces. **

"**Bastards," he mumbled, pulling out his wallet and walking back over to the bar, the sound of the boy's laughter following him. **

"**It's going to be another hour," Keith shrugged, flopping back down next to Swill on the bench as they waited for their train. **

"**Can't we just get a cab?" Ike complained, leaning against one of the pillars. "It's fucking freezing in here," **

"**Yeah," Pete agreed standing up and yawning. "I'll pay for it, there's no fucking way I'm sitting down here for the next hour freezing my bollocks off,"**

**Making their way up the stairs, Pete quickly glanced at his watch and swore noticing it was already 6.47 and he'd told Allie to be round his at 7; he knew she didn't mind letting herself in, but he still wanted to be there with her. **

**Reaching the upper platform, Pete squinted at the cold as it hit his face, knocking the sobriety right back into him. **

"**Well, fuck me if it isn't little Petey Dunham," **

**Pete turned in the direction of the all too familiar voice, his guard instantly up; he wasn't in the mood for this kind of shit today, he just wanted to go home and spend the rest of the night with his girlfriend, why was that so fucking hard?**

"**You've either got to have some right ol' bottle, or just be a right stupid fuck to show your face around here," Pete looked at Mikey shaking his head. **

**He hadn't seen Mikey in about six months since the night he met Allie on the tube, suddenly remembering the reason that they met, because Mikey had her backed into a corner trying to cop a feel made Pete a lot angrier. **

"**Yeah, well what can I say Dunham?" he shrugged. "We all just missed you."**

**The boys behind him laughed, and Pete noticed Bovver standing up a little straighter right next to him; he didn't want this to go down as a fight, but if need be, he'd happily beat the shit out of Mikey again. Someone needed to. **

"**If I were you mate," Pete called. "I'd just get on your train and fuck off back home, because believe me when I say I am in no fucking mood for your bullshit today."**

"**Dear me, Dunham, what's got your balls in a twist?" Mikey walked towards them, his friends trailing behind him. "See from what I heard, you've got it quite sweet these days," he grinned. "Apparently you've gone and got yourself a nice little girlfriend," **

**Pete's head snapped up and he clenched his fists; how the fuck did Mikey know about him and Allie? Surely he wouldn't even remember her?**

"**That nice, tight little posh bird from the train," Mikey licked his lips. "Don't suppose you fancy passing her on once you're done?"**

**The boys laughed, and Pete felt Dave's hand on his shoulder, urging him to calm down a little; the last thing they needed right now was to get nicked for kicking the shit out of someone as pathetic as Mikey Mullins. **

"**If I were you, I'd watch your mouth, son," Dave told him, narrowing his eyes. **

"**Bit overprotective isn't we boys?" Lee Esdon, one of Mikey's friends laughed. "She servicing all of you or something?"**

"**Yeah, come on Pete," Mikey laughed, crossing his arms. "How about a little story time with the boys and me? See I hear that posh birds like to play hard to get and all that bollocks, you know they're all sweet on the outside, but get them in the sack and they're absolute filth,"**

**Pete didn't even realise he'd moved until he actually say his fist connect with Mikey's jaw, sending him flying backwards into the wall. From then on, it was all a blur, he had no idea what was going on behind him with the rest of the boys, his attention was solely focused on Mikey. Watching as he stood up laughing manically as he wiped the blood from his lip. **

"**She's that good then, eh?" he smirked. "Pretty little thing isn't she? We see her getting the tube sometimes, I mean do you have any idea how easy it would be for me to get to her, Dunham?" he stepped closer and lowered his voice. "And if I ever did, you don't want to fucking know what I'd do to her…some like her, you can just flip over and start again."**

"**Listen to me you stupid fucking cunt," Pete hissed, grabbing him by the throat and shoving him against the wall. He heard a faint crack and wondered whether it was the tiles, or Mikey's skull; it took him all of about a second to realise that either way, he didn't give a shit. "If you look at her, go near her, even so much as fucking talk about her again, I'll kill you. And if you think I'm just threatening you, go ahead and say something else, because I tell you something, at this point, I'm looking for a fucking reason to end you."**

"**You always did talk a lot of shit," Mikey smiled through bloody and somewhat loose looking teeth. **

"**And never did fucking get it into your head when to walk away," Pete slammed his head back against the wall and he fell into a mumbling heap on the floor. "Unless you want something to really fucking kick off, I'd take that piece of shit and get out of here very, very fucking sharpish."**

**Apparently knowing better than the leader of their firm when to cut their losses, Lee and the others shoved Mikey to his feet and dragged him towards the platform, shuffling into the train that had just pulled in. Looking down at his hand, Pete winced; his knuckles were already starting to bruise and the skin had been ripped off them, making them look raw and angry. **

"**You alright mate?" Bovver asked, pressing his sleeve against his cut lip where one of the boys had hit him. **

"**Yeah," Pete muttered, flexing his fingers and hissing at the pain. "Let's just get the fuck out of here."**

**Walking ahead of them, Pete couldn't help the sick feeling in his stomach; Mikey had mentioned that they had seen Allie getting the tube, they'd been watching her. And if they knew he was involved with her, then other firms were bound to find out soon enough; and that meant that she was at risk. Just by being with him, she was at risk. Shaking his head, Pete yanked the door open to the first cab he saw, ignoring the other boys as they climbed in after him, still talking about what had happened. All Pete cared about was Allie, and if Mikey or anyone else took one step towards her, even looked at her, Pete would take them out. Permanently. **

**Flicking through the channels, Allie sighed settling on an old looking episode of the Simpson's and dropping the remote down next to her. Glancing at the clock on Pete's wall, she frowned. It was almost 8.15 and he'd told her to be here at 7. Placing a hand over her flat stomach as it rumbled, she bit her lip guiltily, giving him another five minutes to show his face before she ordered food from somewhere. Sinking back into the cushions, she closed her eyes smiling at the way the whole flat smelled like him; that typical bloke smell mixed with something that uniquely belonged to him. She opened her eyes a second later, hearing the door rattle as Pete tried to get the key in. Realising he was probably too drunk to manage, Allie stood up and walked over to it, reaching for the handle and swinging it open. **

"**Thank God," she grinned. "I thought I was going to starve to death if you weren't back…" her smile seemed to bleed off of her face as she looked at him. There was a slight bruise on his left cheek bone, but it was only when she looked down at his hand that she gasped. The skin was torn and still bleeding slightly, his knuckles swollen and bruised. **

"**Oh baby, what happened?" she reached for his good hand, pulling him into the flat. **

"**Nothing," he smiled faintly at her, but it didn't even try to reach his eyes. "I just…"**

"**Was there a fight?" she asked quietly, her eyes on his. Pete shook his head, noticing there wasn't a trace of judgement in them, only concern. Most girls would have started shouting, or simply stormed out, but Allie was only worried about him. **

"**Yeah," he nodded. "Just some twat who started winding me up," he looked down at his hand, remembering the things Mikey had been saying and almost felt grateful for the pain. **

"**Go sit down, I'm going to go and grab some first aid stuff," she touched his face. "Just so it doesn't get infected or anything, ok?"**

"**It's in the bathroom…" **

"**Under the sink in the green box," she grinned when he lifted his eyebrows at her. "What? I'm a girl. When we get bored, we nose around."**

**Pete laughed at her as she winked before disappearing down the hallway. Moving around the sofa, he flopped down on it, resting his elbows on his knees; the conversation he'd had with Mikey was still haunting him and the thought of anyone touching or hurting Allie was making him feel sick. **

"**Ok," Allie gently brushed the back of his neck with her fingers as she passed by, coming to sit on the coffee table in front of the sofa, her knees touching his. Opening the box, she began sifting through it, taking out a few pieces of gauze, some TCP and handing him an icepack. **

"**For your eye," she explained. "I found it lying under something that I think used to be peas in your freezer,"**

**Laughing, Pete held the ice pack to his cheek wincing when he pushed a little too hard against the skin and looking at Allie as she gently placed his hand in her lap, biting her lip as she examined it. **

"**Um, baby there's some dirt in it so I'm going to have to…" she cringed, reaching for the bottle of TCP and wrinkling her nose as the strong smell of disinfectant filled the room. Dabbing some onto a piece of gauze, she placed his hand so that it was flat against her thigh and met his eyes. "Ready?"**

"**Allie, it's only a little…Fuck me!" he shouted, yanking his hand away. "What is that? It feels like fucking acid!"**

"**Sorry!" she winced, pulling on his hand again. "Only another few seconds ok?"**

**Pete hissed as she continued dabbing the torn flesh, his demeanour softening when he looked at her face as she bit her lip in concentration, her soft honey coloured hair falling gently into her eyes. He reached out to brush it back and she smiled, but didn't look up from his hand. **

"**So what pissed you off so much that you were willing to sacrifice your entire left hand?" she picked up the injured hand a began wrapping some bandage around it as gently as she could. **

"**Mikey," he watched as she froze, looking up at him with her green eyes wide. "The guy from the train?" she asked him in a whisper. "What the hell did he want?"**

"**Not much," he lied. Pete knew exactly what Mikey wanted, and that was what was worrying him so much. "Just shooting his fucking mouth off as usual."**

"**About?" Allie finished bandaging up his hand, but didn't let it go. Pete's eyes stayed trained on her hands, so soft and gentle as she ran her fingers up and down his arm soothingly. "Hey, it's ok, if you don't want to talk about it," she promised him. "It's just if you **_**did **_**want to, well then, I'm here."**

"**How do you do that?" Pete asked her, watching as she started putting things back into the first aid box. **

"**Do what?" she asked, shutting the lid and meeting his eyes with a smile that he couldn't bring himself to return. **

"**Put up with me and all this bollocks," he held up his bandaged hand to prove the point. **

"**I don't 'put up with you'," she laughed. "I love you, and at the end of the day, that's all that counts." Leaning in, she kissed him gently, her hand stroking his bruised cheek softly. "Plus, it helps that you're hot," **

**Pete laughed, kissing her back and pushing everything Mikey had said to the back of his mind; for the meantime anyway. Pulling her closer to him, Pete buried his face in her neck, breathing in the scent of her hair and getting lost in the familiar aroma of vanilla and cinnamon. Her fingers started stroking the back of his neck, something that –whether she knew it or not- she only did when she thought he was stressed, but oddly enough it always managed to calm him down. **

"**You're sure you're ok?" Allie asked him, her voice coming out muffled by his shoulder. He didn't say anything for a long moment, and Allie felt her stomach clench; whatever had happened must have been pretty bad for him not to want to tell her. **

"**Yeah," he nodded, pulling away just far enough so that he could look into her face. "I'll be fine, just promise me that you'll…" he trailed off, not even knowing what he wanted to ask of her. Promise me that you won't leave the house? Promise me that you won't talk to strangers? Promise me you won't get scared and leave me because even though I'd never admit it, I actually think I'd die without you?**

"**What?" Allie tilted his chin up with her fingers, forcing his eyes back to hers. **

"**Um, don't tell Shannon about any of this," he told her lamely. "She'd tell Steve and I'd never hear the fucking end of it,"**

"**It's a deal," Allie grinned, reaching over and picking up one of the Chinese take our menus on the coffee table behind her. "So, in return for my silence, how do you fancy buying me dinner?"**

**Pete grinned back at her, tossing the menu to one side and attacking the side of her neck, smirking when she started laughing and begging him to stop. It was moments, like this when the GSE didn't exist, when they could pretend that they were just another couple that Pete Dunham felt truly happy. But then he would wake up in the morning and everything would become very real again; brining her mouth back down to his, Pete sighed as she gently cupped his face. **

**But none of that mattered now, all that existed was her, and everything else seemed to disappear, but he knew it wouldn't last long.**

**It never did. **


	13. Chapter 13

**Allie tiredly rubbed her eyes as she stared at the computer screen in front of her; it had just gone 2am and she was stuck in her office totally on her own fixing someone else's mess…as usual. **

**One of the more determined interns that her editor Jack had taken on over summer had for some reason felt the need to alphabetise their entire back catalogue of designers, not realising that they were already in a specific order, and after 8 rounds and 3 practice rounds of rock, paper, scissors, Allie was left to put everything back as it had once been. **

"**Fuck it," she mumbled under her breath as she slammed her palms against the edge of her desk, causing her chair to slide away from it. Reaching down, she tugged her shoes back on and winced as her aching feet were once again confined to their leather prison; casting a glance back at the computer, she bit her lip knowing that she should really stay and finish the damn thing, but on the other hand, she had pyjama's, coffee and a gorgeous man lying in his bed waiting for her. Grinning, she switched off the monitor without a second thought. **

**Making her way down the hallway to the lift, she pressed the button and looked down the darkened hallways the only illumination in the building coming from the eerie blue lights of the computers as they hummed quietly, waiting for the morning rush. Stepping inside the elevator she pressed the button and leant back against the wall, all energy seeping out of her body. Whoever said a job in fashion was easy obviously hadn't worked a 13 hour day in Louboutin shoes. **

**The sharp ping of the elevator alerted her to the fact that she had arrived at the ground floor, which meant in roughly 30 minutes, she'd be in bed with Pete sound asleep and dreaming up excuses to give to Jack in the morning. **

**Strolling through the foyer, she smiled at Mark the 40-something security guard who had insisted he stay until she was safe at home. **

"**Sorry," she called to him, her heels clacking on the marble floor and creating an echo. "I had no idea I was going to be that long,"**

"**Its fine sweetie," he winked at her. "You just go home and get some rest, ok?"**

"**Thanks Mark," she gently patted his arm and pushed through the doors out into the mild early May morning. Though still dark there was a warmth in the air that allowed her to leave her jacket unbuttoned, blowing in the soft wind as she walked quickly down the road to the nearest tube station; glancing at her watch, she swore realising that she had about 3 minutes before the last train back to Sloane would be leaving. **

**Breaking into a jog, she almost tripped on the stairs as her heels skidding on something wet; willing herself not to think about what it could be, she scanned her card and pushed through the barriers, running faster when she heard a train approaching. **

"**Bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger," she chanted, watching as the doors started to close. Shooting her hand out, she managed to catch them before they shut completely and hopped into the empty carriage with a satisfied grin. **

**There didn't appear to be anyone else on the train, which to Allie simply emphasised how stupidly late or ridiculously early it actually was. **

**Flopping down into one of the seats, she pulled her phone out of her pocket smiling when she realised she had three missed calls fro Pete. **

_**Just got on the tube. Be at yours in 20mins. If you wait up, I'll make it worth your while **__****__** love you x**_

**Pressing 'send' she closed her eyes and tried to ignore the musty smell of the train seats or the clanking noise of the tracks; instead just focusing on the fact that in 20 minutes, she'd be home safe and sound. **

…

**Stepping out onto the road that led to Pete's house, Allie sighed her body feeling as though it would collapse if she didn't find a bed soon. Dragging her feet along the footpath she could probably now navigate with her eyes shut, she moaned out loud when her phone started ringing, for a second unsure if she actually had the energy to reach into her purse and retrieve the damn thing. **

**Knowing it could only be one person, she didn't even bother looking at the screen. **

"**I'm almost there," she mumbled into the receiver. **

"**Allie, it's fucking 2.30 in the morning."**

"**I know."**

"**What are you doing at work? Can't they get some fucking office monkey to do it?"**

"**No, I'm the only one who knows the exact order," she rubbed her eyes. "You didn't actually have to wait up," she grinned. "I'm far too tired to make good on my promise."**

"**Where are you now?" he asked. **

"**Just leaving the station," she yawned. "I'll be there soon, ok baby?"**

"**I'm going to come and meet you." **

"**Pete…"**

"**You're not walking down that road on your own," he told her firmly. "Just stay in the station, alright?"**

"**Fine," she conceded, too knackered to even argue. Slumping against a lamppost she closed her eyes and pleaded with her body to just put off going to sleep for a few minutes more. **

"**I'm on my way," he told her. "See you in a minute, babe."**

"**Bye," she whispered, flipping the phone shut. Blindly moving to place it in her bag, she swore as it slipped from her fingers and dropped to the ground, the light clacking sound seeming to echo in the empty street. **

"**Shit," she whispered, bending down to retrieve it, shaking the phone and consequently getting some of the questionable coloured water on her jacket. **

"**You alright there, love?"**

**Allie froze, her blood running cold as she stared at the ground; she knew that voice. Urging herself not to panic, she stood up slowly, shoving the phone in her pocket. **

"**I'm fine, thanks," she avoided Mickey's gaze, feeling her body snap back to life as adrenaline and fear rushed through her veins. **

"**Now, don't break my heart and tell me you don't remember me?" Mickey stepped in front of her, blocking Allie's path. Looking at him, she felt her stomach clench; he still smelt like beer and stale smoke, his face was red and his dark eyes narrowed as he looked her up and down.**

"**See, I've heard a little rumour, Allie…see I remembered your name," he told her, walking in a slow circle around her and grinning at the other boys. "That you're Dunham's little girlfriend now, ain't that sweet boys?"**

"**What's it got to do with you?" Allie asked him, discreetly reaching into her coat and flipping open her phone. Pete was on speed dial, all she needed to do was push one button…**

**Suddenly, Mikey grabbed her wrist, hard enough to make her cry out and snatched the phone from her, throwing it against the wall behind her. Allie jumped and felt her heart start beating harder, and her breathing quicken as the fear made itself known within her body. **

"**What it's got to do with me, princess, is that I saw you first," he smirked and pushed her backwards against the wall. "And I'm a big believer in finder's keepers,"**

**Allie shuddered as he ran a finger down her neck and moved in so that his face was closer to hers; she caught a whiff of his breath and felt physically sick, turning her head away. **

"**Please leave me alone," she begged him, growing frustrated as her eyes began to fill with tears. "I haven't done anything, so just please go away."**

"**Oh but see where's the fun in that?" Mikey laughed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "You must be good if he's kept you around," he whispered in her ear. "Personally, I bet you're filthy aren't you? See it's always the good little girls that turn out to be the best fucks."**

"**Help!" Allie shouted, struggling against him and almost breaking free but he slammed her wrist against the wall, covering her mouth when she screamed, almost certain that the bone was broken. **

"**That wasn't very fucking clever," Mikey hissed in her ear. "Now be a good girl and give your boyfriend a little message from me."**

……

**Pete pulled his car up to the curb outside the station, frowning when he couldn't see Allie anywhere. Stepping out of the car, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and tried calling her, looking down at disgust at the large spots of what appeared to be blood on the footpath. **

"**Hey, you've reached Allie but I'm far too busy and important to take your call so leave me a message and I'll get back to you," he smiled at the familiar giggle at the end of the message and then waited for the beep. **

"**Allie, I'm at the station where the hell are you?" he frowned. "If you've carried on walking on your own, I'm going to kill you. Just call me back when you get this, ok? I love you." He flipped the phone shut, going to shove it back into his pocket when it started ringing again. That had to be a world record for Allie. **

"**Where are you?" Pete laughed down the phone. "I was starting to think maybe I'd dreamt the whole conversation."**

"**Pete."**

**Her voice wiped the smile off of his face; she didn't sound right, her breathing was harsh, and her voice was too raspy. It sounded like she was crying. **

"**Help," she sobbed. "You have to help me,"**

"**Baby what's going on?" Pete demanded. "Where are you?"**

"**Ally way," she choked out. **

**Before he was even sure his brain had registered what she had said, Pete ran past the entrance to the station and glanced down the side ally that ran along next to the train lines. **

_**Oh my God, no…please fucking God, no…**_

"**Allie," Pete shouted, dropping to his knees beside her, trying to ignore the ache in his chest as he looked at her. Her face was covered with blood from a deep looking gash on her forehead, her lip was split, her wrist crumpled looking as she cradled it against her body. Her tights were torn, and her knees covered in sore looking grazes where's she'd fallen to the ground. But it was the look in her eyes that killed him; her eyes were pleading with him, the pain and fear so palpable in them that he had to force himself to look at her. **

"**Baby, come here," he pulled her into his arms, wincing when she cried out. "It's ok; we're going to get you to a hospital ok? But I just need you to hold on to me."**

**Trying to lock her arms around his neck, she sobbed as her wrist bent and collapsed back onto the ground, shaking her head as tears streamed down her face. **

"**I can't," she sobbed. "It hurts…"**

_**Fuck, **_**Pete cursed himself as he felt tears stinging his eyes. He was supposed to protect her. What kind of fucking man let his girlfriend walk home on her own at 2am?**

**Pulling out his phone, he quickly dialled 999, making sure to keep Allie as close to him as he possibly could without hurting her. He could feel the tremors running through her body and gently rubbed her back to warm her up. **

"**999 emergency, do you require police, fire department or ambulance?"**

"**I need an ambulance now," he almost shouted, his fear getting the better of him. "It's my girlfriend, she's been attacked."**

"**Ok, can I have the address?" **

**Pete fought to keep his patience as he told her their location, finding some solace in the fact she had promised him an ambulance within 5 minutes. **

"**Ok, the ambulance is coming and they're going to fix you up," Pete told her, pushing her hair which was matted with her blood away from her face. "Jesus, baby what happened?"**

"**I was waiting," she sobbed. "And I, I didn't think anyone else was here, but they just snuck up and I didn't…" shaking her head, Allie struggled to breathe as the sobs shook her small frame. "I thought they were going to…"**

"**Baby," Pete's voice cracked as he lifted her face up to his. "You need to tell me who did this,"**

"**It was that…Mikey guy," she groaned as her head started to throb, the shock obviously wearing off just enough for the pain to start kicking in. "He was saying things…" **

"**Fuck, baby I'm so sorry," Pete kissed her forehead, realising that he could taste her blood and felt ill. She was hurt because of him; it had been over two months since his encounter with Mikey on the train and he'd thought that Allie was safe. No one would touch her with him around to protect her. Hearing the sirens getting closer and closer, Pete closed his eyes and sat there in the ally, cradling the woman he loved as she bled and wept, paying for something that had nothing to do with her. **

**Reluctantly letting her go as the paramedics pushed him out of the way; Pete watched as they lay her on a stretcher and placed an oxygen mask over her face talking in medical riddles that he couldn't understand. **

**They lifted her up and began pushing her towards the ambulance, her small, bloodied hand reaching out from underneath the blanket to grasp his as he watched the tears continue to spill down her cheeks, and watched his world fall apart. **


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Ok, so originally this chapter was HUGE so I've broken it down into two parts but fear not, part two will be posted by the weekend so you won't be left hanging for too long! Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think! **

"**Morning sunshine," Lara grinned, skipping into Allie's hospital room with a bouquet of sunflowers and two Starbucks coffees tucked under her arm. **

**Allie looked up from her magazine which she had been surreptitiously flicking through for the last hour and smiled at her friend; it had been two days since she'd been attacked and in those two days she'd seen Pete once. She knew it was because he felt guilty over what had happened to her, but she was determined to prove to him it wasn't his fault. Come on, as if she was the first woman to get mugged coming out of the underground. **

"**Hey," she sat up a little straighter, eagerly reaching for the cappuccino Lara offered her. Her fingers wrapped loosely around the cup and she winced slightly as her left wrist reminded her once again that it was far from healed. **

"**How're you feeling?" Lara asked her, sitting down on the edge of the bed and taking a sip of her coffee. **

"**I'm fine," she nodded. "They're letting me out tomorrow morning."**

"**That's great," Lara smiled, noticing that the usual glow in her friend's bright green eyes was definitely missing. "So he still hasn't called, huh?"**

"**He thinks it's his fault," Allie shook her head and sighed. "What the hell am I going to do?"**

"**Maybe you both need some space," Lara told her gently. **

"**I don't want fucking space," Allie spat. "I just need Pete to be here,"**

"**Allie, you could have been killed, ok, you do realise that?" **

"**I'm fine," she insisted. **

"**Oh yeah, well you're Frankenstein-esque facial wound and crippled left claw are telling a different story," Lara raised an eyebrow as Allie looked away, a definite smile pulling at her lips. "I love Pete," Lara told her. "He's an amazing guy and I know that he makes you happy, but I'm just saying that don't hold it against him for being like this. He's probably scared and you have to admit that this wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for him being the Mayor of the GCSE."**

"**Major," Allie laughed, almost dribbling her coffee. "And it's GSE,"**

"**Whatever," Lara dismissed her with a wave of her manicured hand. "My point is that you need to think about the fact that if being with him means shit like this happening, it might not be what you need."**

"**But I love him so much," Allie whispered, tears blurring her vision as she stared down at her coffee cup. "And he's not here now and I feel like I can't breathe,"**

"**Oh honey," Lara pushed a piece of hair off of her forehead and gently tilted her chin up so that she was forced to meet her eyes. "It'll be ok, I promise. He'll be here soon,"**

**Pulling her friend in for a hug, Lara felt tears sting her own eyes as Allie cried into her shoulder; she didn't care if Pete was trying to protect Allie or whether he was sat in his flat moping around in the dark, the point was it was hurting Allie, which meant that Lara was on a mission to royally kick his arse. **

"**Fucking hell, Pete are you joking?" Dave looked at the younger man in complete shock. The thought that anyone even a crazy son of a bitch like Mikey would go after Allie to get to Pete was just plain sick. **

"**So are you lot in?" he asked, his blue eyes darkening to the point where they seemed almost black. **

"**As if you even have to fucking ask," Bovver spoke up, getting a surprised reaction from the rest of the boys. Frowning slightly he wondered what kind of bastard they thought he was; just because Allie wasn't his favourite person didn't mean that she deserved this. No one did. **

"**When?" Ike asked. **

"**Tonight," Pete told them. "You boys know their pub?"**

"**Yeah, it's the Kings pub in Brixton, isn't it?" Keith glanced at the rest of the boys, unsure of what was going to happen. None of them had ever seen Pete this angry before and it was beginning to make them wonder just what he was planning on doing once he found Mikey. **

"**If we aim to get there for closing, there shouldn't be too many of them," Pete flexed his fingers, the adrenaline already streaming through his body. "Feel free to take out whoever the fuck you want, but that Mikey cunt is mine."**

"**Back here at 1?" Ned looked to Pete who nodded, not looking at any of them; taking the hint everyone made their way back inside the pub leaving Pete on his own. Leaning his head against the wall, he sighed deeply; he hadn't been able to sleep for the last two nights, every time he closed his eyes all he saw was Allie lying in the dark, her body trembling as she sobbed, her face covered in blood. Feeling sick, Pete bent down slightly desperately trying to force the images out of his head, focusing on Mikey instead. Immediately, his fists clenched by his side, his heart hammering in his chest as he recalled the things Mikey had said to him on the tube those few months ago, when Pete had dismissed it all as an empty threat. He should have finished him off then, and Allie would be safe right now. **

"**Stupid fucking prick!" he shouted, punching the wall with every ounce of strength he had, revelling in the pain that shot through his hand as he looked down, examining the torn flesh. **

"**Damn, that was my opening line."**

**Pete looked up and stared at Lara in utter confusion; where the fuck had she come from? **

"**So they're releasing Allie tomorrow," she informed him, nodding and rocking on her feet. "You remember Allie right? About 5"6, blonde…oh wait, silly me isn't she your girlfriend?"**

"**Why are you here, Lara?" He snapped, flexing his fingers, making the pain last as long as possible. **

"**No, Pete I think the question is why the fuck are **_**you**_** here?" she walked closer, pushing a strand of auburn hair behind her ear and glaring at him. "What are you playing at? The woman you love is in hospital and you're what…sneaking out for a cheeky pint with the lads?" **

"**That's not what this is," he shouted, taking a step back from her. "What the fuck would you know anyway? You're the one that left her alone in that office at 2 in the morning."**

"**Oh and remind me where you were when she was getting the shit beaten out of her by some jumped up council estate junky who just coincidentally happens to have some beef with you, huh?" she shouted back. "Or maybe you just don't give a shit,"**

"**Don't you dare fucking say that to me," Pete snarled at her, feeling the anger rising up in his blood. **

"**Why not?" Lara laughed bitterly. "She's been in that hospital for two days and you've seen her once. Do you have any idea how much you're hurting her? Because I fucking do. I have to listen to her cry every night after she spends the entire day staring at the door and waiting for you to walk through it."**

**Pete stared at the ground ignoring the sting of tears in his eyes; the dirt and concrete below him seemed to meld into nothingness and suddenly the pain in his hand was nothing compared to the one shooting through his chest. **

"**Is she ok?" he whispered. **

"**No," Lara shook her head. "No, she's not ok, Pete. She's scared and she's hurting and her boyfriend is ignoring her. Jesus, Pete just go and see her,"**

"**No," he shook his head firmly. **

"**Why not?" Lara pleaded desperately. **

"**Because I can't fucking look at her, Lara. Every time I do, all I see is her lying in that ally way covered in blood, crying out my name because she's scared and hurt and I'm too fucking late to do anything about it."**

"**So you think avoiding her is the answer?" she laughed. "You're a fucking joke, do you know that?"**

"**She's too good for me," Pete shouted. "It wasn't Mikey who put her in that hospital bed, it was me. If she wasn't involved with me, then she'd be safe."**

"**No, she'd still be with Will bored out of her fucking brains and unhappy," Lara tried to control her temper, but standing in here in front of him, listening to his bullshit excuses was enough to make Mother Theresa curse. "You want me to say she's too good for you? Ok, she's too good for you. But it's not because of money or her upbringing or any of that…it's because if that was you in that hospital right now, she'd be glued to your side and you fucking know it. But you, you're willing to let her sit there at night on her own, crying." She shook her head and looked at him in utter disgust. "I used to think you were a great guy, you know I honestly used to look at Allie when she talked about you, see the glow in her eyes and the smile on her face and almost feel jealous that she found someone like you who could make her that happy."**

**Pete stared at her wanting to tell her to shut up, that he'd heard enough, but he couldn't; he was frozen to the spot, the only feeling he had was the irritating sensation of the blood dripping down his knuckles and onto his hand. **

"**But you're right. You're not good enough for her by a long shot," shrugging, Lara met his eyes and almost flinched when she saw that there was nothing behind them. "But what I find amazing is that for someone who loves her, and who hates himself so badly for failing to protect her, you're really quick to just toss her aside." Turning back around Lara walked down the ally where her taxi was waiting at the end. "Oh and by the way, she doesn't know I came to find you. So you won't have to worry about me going back and telling her you don't care…she's a smart girl, she'll figure it out soon enough."**

**Pete watched as she slammed the door and the cab pulled away from the curb leaving him stranded in an eerie silence. Closing his eyes for a second, he took a deep breath before pulling his phone out of his pocket and dialling. **

"**Bov? Get everyone outside, fuck waiting until 1, we're moving now." **

**Shoving the phone back into his pocket, he walked around the side of the pub and met the boys who were all standing there, shuffling from foot to foot and looking at him nervously. **

"**You sure about this Pete?" Dave asked with a frown. **

"**Yeah," he nodded, walking ahead of them, his heartbeat pounding in his ears with every step. "I'm sure."**

"**Pete, what's the plan mate?" Dave asked, jogging along with the rest of the boys until they were almost in line with Pete again. "I mean, once we get there, what the fuck do we do."**

"**You get Mikey on his own," Pete told stated simply, looking straight ahead as he walked, the darkening May sky setting the sombre mood as the rest of the boys followed in silence. **

"**And then, I kill him."**


	15. Chapter 15

"**You're not fucking wimping out already?" Lee laughed as Mikey stood up from the bench outside the pub and shrugged his worn denim jacket back on. He and the boys had been out for a few too many drinks to celebrate their little victory of the GSE. Suddenly the other firms in town were looking at them with a lot more respect and what Mikey liked to believe was a fair bit of fear in their eyes. It took some serious balls to go after someone like Dunham, let alone his bird. **

"**Well unlike you lazy bastards I've got work in about six fucking hours," Mikey shot back, placing a cigarette between his teeth and fumbling around in his pockets for a lighter. "I'm heading home now while I can still fucking walk,"**

"**Do you want us to come with you?" Jamie piped up, bringing another round of pints to the table and spilling most of them down his jeans. **

"**Fuck off," he laughed. "What makes you think I need someone to hold me hand all of a sudden?"**

"**Mikey," Jamie leant forward onto the table, lowering his voice. "It's been two days since we pulled that stunt with Dunham's bird and no one's heard a fucking peep out of him."**

"**What and you don't reckon that it could just mean that we finally got through to the little shit?" Mikey grinned. "Someone had to do something,"**

"**I know mate, but you have to admit, it was a bit fucking brutal," Jamie winced at the look on Mikey's face. That was rule one of this firm: no one ever, under any circumstances disagreed with Mikey; even if what he wanted was to beat the living hell out of some innocent girl just because she happened to be Pete Dunham's girlfriend. **

"**You didn't seem to have much of a problem with it when you kicked her in the stomach," Mikey reminded him, a sick grin spreading across his face. "The little bitch got what she had coming to her, I'm just gutted I didn't get to finish the job."**

**Jamie kept his mouth shut, not wanting to know what Mikey meant by that; apparently none of the boys did as they simply stared down at their pints, the only sound was the mild wind that kicked up around them. **

"**Just be careful mate," Lee called as Mikey started walking down the street towards his house. **

"**See you lot tomorrow," Mikey shouted back, lighting his cigarette and taking a long, soothing drag. He wasn't worried about anything; that was the thing with Pete, he was so predictable that it hurt and Mikey knew that if he was going to strike back, he would've done it straight away on impulse. Grinning to himself, Mikey reached up and touched the long, jagged scratch that Allie had left on his face. Sometimes it was nice to have a little reminder. **

"**Jamie's not as fucking stupid as he looks is he?" **

**Mikey jumped visibly as the voice cut through the silent darkness of the early evening and turned to see Pete standing with his back against one of the cars lining the road. **

"**In fact I'd almost say he's a man of some very wise fucking words," Pete took a step forward and met his eyes. "You really should be more careful."**

"**Fuck me," Mikey laughed. "You always were one for the dramatics weren't you, Dunham?" Flicking his cigarette to the ground, he smirked. "You do realise that my boys are only round the corner, all I'd have to do is shout and you're fucked."**

"**Actually, I think they've got their hands full at the moment," Pete told him, nodding to where at the end of the street you could just about make out Keith kicking someone repeatedly as they lay on the floor. "Which means you have until the time it takes my boys to finish wiping the floor with your little team of girls to give me a fucking good reason not to kill you."**

"**I don't know what you're talking about," Mikey shrugged, a smirk playing on his lips. **

"**I really wouldn't fucking try that shit with me," Pete warned him. "I know that it was you who did it to her,"**

"**Oh, right I heard about your bird," Mikey winced. "How is Allie?"**

**Pete clenched his fists and felt something rising up within him, a darkness and a madness that even with all the fights he'd been in before, he'd never known. **

"**Say her name again and I swear to fucking God I'll rip your throat out." He snarled, taking another step forward. **

"**Dunham, it was a mistake, alright?" Mikey backed up slightly. **

"**A mistake?" Pete laughed. "A fucking mistake, oh well, I guess that's ok then."**

**He looked at the other man for a long moment, the images of Allie crying, her blood on his hands, and the fear in her eyes creeping into his mind as he did so. Roaring, Pete grabbed Mikey by the neck and slammed him into the side of one of the cars, making sure his head collided with the window. **

"**You better start saying your fucking Hail Mary's," Pete whispered. "Because touching her was the last thing you were ever going to do, do you get me?"**

**Pete slammed his foot down onto Mikey's ankle and heard a definite crack, his cry of agony filling the air around them. **

"**Did you actually think that I'd let you get away with this?" Pete met his eyes and saw the pain in them, so pressed his foot back down onto the broken ankle. "That I'd let you touch my girlfriend, that I'd let you hurt her and just leave it alone?"**

**Mikey tried to shove Pete backwards but he was too strong, instead tightening his grip on the small mans neck, his thumb putting excess pressure on his wind pipe and curbing his oxygen supply. **

"**I'm sorry," Mikey rasped, trying to loosen Pete's hands. "I'm so sorry."**

"**Too. Fucking. Late." Pete threw him to the floor and kicked him as hard as he could in the ribs before reaching down and slamming his head into the tire of the car, his fist smashing into his stomach over and over again. **

**Swinging his fist, Mikey clocked Pete right on his temple and he fell backward slightly, agony pulsing through his head. It lasted only a few seconds but in that time Mikey somehow managed to pull himself up against the car, crying out as the pressure he put on his broken ankle caused another crack to echo through the street. **

"**It was actually pretty funny," Mikey spat a fair amount of blood onto the floor and laughed. "People thought we were fucking stupid going after the Major's bird, but see I knew that fucking her up was the worst way to get to you. You've always been a complete mug, Pete, you trust too many people, but with her, it's different, isn't it? Not that I can blame you, she's a gorgeous girl."**

**Pete gripped the side of his head, needing to stand up and finish this but the spots in front of this eyes and the agonising pain sweeping through the side of his head was preventing him from doing anything but listening to what this bastard was saying and feeling sick at the very sound of his voice. **

"**She only started crying when I kicked her in the stomach, before that she was a brave little bitch, didn't make a sound except for your name. We thought that was fucking hilarious, seeing her lying on the floor crying out your name." Mikey laughed, the pain obviously causing him to temporarily loose his mind; but he had no doubt of what Pete would do to him if and when he ever managed to get back up, so what did he have to loose?**

"**It's a bit ironic when you think about it, the big bad Major of the GSE too much of a pussy to even protect the bird that's been nice enough to fuck his brains out for the past six months." He spat some more blood onto the floor and this time a lightening bolt of white, hot pain slammed through his chest as he did so. "Once she gets out of hospital, give her my number would you? If she makes that much noise when she's getting the shit beaten out of her, she must be like a fucking animal when you're shagging her."**

**Pete clenched his eyes shut, and braced himself of the pavement, feeling something sharp and cool beneath his palm, looking down at the item, he narrowed his eyes and used his last ounce of strength to stand up, launching himself at the other man and pinning him back against the car. **

**Raising the broken bottle in his hand, Pete pressed it hard enough against Mikey's throat to draw the tiniest droplet of blood and took pleasure in the other man's fear. Mikey looked into Pete's eyes and felt his blood run cold; they were completely black and from the way that they were darting back and forth he knew that Pete had officially lost any mental stability he had. **

"**You're not going to kill me, Dunham."**

"**You really wanna make that fucking bet with me?" Pete hissed, pressing the glass harder against his throat. "I should have killed you that first night on the tube."**

"**You're really willing to go to prison over some posh little slut?" Mikey sneered. "You're pathetic."**

**Pete slammed his head against the car and both of them fell to the floor, Pete landing on top of him, he hands shaking with rage as he held Mikey down. **

"**You put her in hospital," he screamed his fist connecting with Mikey's face over and over again. "She could have fucking died you stupid cunt, and it would have been your fault,"**

**Looking down he noted that Mikey had lost consciousness but Pete couldn't stop it was as though he no longer had control of what his body was doing. He could feel the wetness of Mikey's blood on his hand and the stillness of his body under his and briefly wondered if he had killed him, realising without fear that if he had, he wouldn't care. **

"**Pete!" Bovver's voice just about penetrated his mind and he felt himself being hauled backwards, his breathing coming out in harsh pants as he found himself on the floor. **

"**Fuck me, is he…" Ike swallowed hard, looking at Mikey's body. **

"**No," Dave shook his head as he listened to his breathing which was coming out in jagged breaths. Mikey's face was barely recognisable, blood covering his features, dribbling down onto his neck and saturating his jacket. Casting a glance at Pete, Dave saw him just sitting there, staring at his bloodied hands with tears on his face. He knew that had they not arrived when they did, he would have killed Mikey without a second thought, and that was scary enough. **

"**Get him the fuck out of here," Bovver pointed at Lee as he and Mikey's other boys stumbled up the road, freezing on the spot when they saw their leader lying motionless on the floor. "Before something else kicks off."**

"**Pete?" Dave crouched down and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Mate, are you alright?"**

"**I need to go home," he told them quietly, pulling himself to his feet and ignoring the pain that surged through his body as he did so. Without the anger and adrenaline in his blood, he was starting to feel the repercussions from the few punches that Mikey had actually managed to get in.**

"**Let us come with you, hey mate?" Bov nodded, unable to think of a time in his life when he had seen Pete like this; he looked so withdrawn and lifeless, almost as if every ounce of energy had been ripped from his body. **

"**Nah," Pete shook his head and stuffed his hands into his pockets, afraid that if he had to look at the blood a moment longer, he would get sick. He'd seen enough blood in three days to last him a fucking lifetime. "You're alright, I just need to…" trailing off, Pete shook his head again, and started walking away from them. **

"**We'll call you tomorrow, yeah?" Dave called to him and waited for him to call back.**

**He didn't.**

** -------------------------------------------- **

**Stepping into his flat, Pete wasted no time in ridding himself of his clothes and heading straight for the shower. Leaning back against the tiled wall, he looked down at the water streaming down into the drain, the clear liquid taking on a pink tint as his blood mixed with it. **

**He had almost killed a man tonight…he'd been more than willing to kill a man tonight. The thought sent his mind into turmoil and he slammed his fists against the shower wall. He couldn't remember a time before in his life when he had fucked up so badly; he'd lost Allie, almost killed someone and risked life imprisonment all in three days. That had to be a record of some sorts.**

**He kept thinking about Allie; about what she would say if she were here now, knowing that he had very nearly taken someone's life in the name of revenge. Because surely that put him in the same category as Mikey? Bracing himself against the back wall of the shower, he felt sick at the thought, squeezing his eyes shut as Mikey's words from earlier echoed through his mind. **

"_**She only started crying when I kicked her in the stomach…didn't make a sound before that except for crying out your name."**_

**Glancing down at his hands, he noted that the cuts on them had already begun to close over, the soothing water having taken some of the redness out of them. Sighing, he reached up and switched off the shower, stepping out and facing his reflection in the mirror. He looked like shit if he was honest. The dark circles under his eyes as a result of going three days without sleep, the fast developing bruise on his temple where Mikey had hit him making his skin seem sickeningly pale in comparison. Pete didn't know the man he was looking at, and worse than that…he hated him. When had his life turned into this? At what point had he become the type of bloke who was capable of any of this? **

**He knew that when he met Allie, he had changed; but the darkness like the kind he knew was inside him never really faded. It had been in his father and his brother, so why should he be any different? This was the life he chose, and there was nothing he could do to change it. **

**Bracing himself against the sink, he stared into the porcelain bowl and felt himself go numb. His entire body felt like it was shutting down and there was nothing he could do about it; with a shout, he hurled everything that was on the counter onto the floor, revelling in the noise it created, disturbing the eerie silence of his flat if only for a moment. Dropping his head into his hands, he felt his chest tighten, struggling to take in the oxygen he needed to stay alive…not that he particularly deserved that at the moment. Looking back up at his reflection, seeing the man he had become and the man he had vowed never to be meld into one, he felt something snap inside of him and for the first time since his father had died four years ago, Pete Dunham cried. **

** -----------------------------------------------**

"**You're quiet," Allie looked at Lara where she was sat curled up on the couch opposite her, absentmindedly flicking through the TV channels. **

"**Me?" she forced a grin onto her face. "Impossible."**

**Lara hadn't told Allie about going to see Pete yesterday, but she had a feeling that Allie was more than aware something had happened when she had come to pick her up from the hospital this morning, barely saying a word. She still couldn't believe the way that fucking moron was behaving. But she could never say that to Allie; it would destroy her to know that the man she loved wasn't who she thought he had been. When had Pete, the man who would walk in front of traffic if Allie asked him to, become the selfish bastard who left the girl he loved to sit in a hospital room, scared and alone because he was too much of an idiot to realise that she was more concerned about having him there for her than she was about finding someone to point the finger at?**

"**Did something happen at work?" Allie asked. "It's not your Dad being a wanker again, is it?"**

"**No," Lara laughed. "He's safely playing the role of the sugar daddy with the step-bitch in Monaco at the moment."**

"**So what is it then?" Allie chucked her magazine back onto the old Victorian coffee table and stared at her friend expectantly. **

**Tossing the remote onto the table, Lara met the blonde girls eyes, residing herself to the fact that she would have to tell her what had happened yesterday. Something caught her eye outside and she looked through the large Victorian bay window out into the courtyard of Allie's house, her eyes widening at the unexpected figure walking towards the door, the blustery and cold looking sky looming behind them. **

"**It's Pete," Lara told her. **

"**What about him?" Allie sat up a little straighter. "Did he call when I was asleep?"**

"**No," Lara shook her head. "I mean its Pete."**

**Before Allie could ask her what the hell she was rambling about, the doorbell sounded through the large foyer just to the left of the living room and Allie felt her breath catch; meeting Lara's eyes for a second, she prised herself away from the sofa as quickly as her body would let her and limped into the hallway, pulling at her white t-shirt subconsciously as she went. Reaching for the handle, she yanked the door open just as Pete raised his hand to ring the bell again. **

**He stared at her for a long moment, his eyes taking in the cut on her head that had been stitched up, a butterfly strip placed across it, the white material taking on a pinkish tint where her blood had continued to seep through**

**Her face wasn't bruised, but he could tell from the way she was stood that her stomach was sore, her left hand still bandaged and held protectively to her side. Meeting her eyes, he realised that she seemed to be checking him over too, making sure that he was real, her eyes lingering sadly on the bruise over his temple. **

"**Pete…" her voice cracked as tears filled her eyes and that was all the incentive he needed to step inside the house and wrap his arms around her. He worried briefly that he might be hurting her, but feeling her arms lock tightly around his neck, he knew that she was ok. **

"**I'm so sorry, baby," he whispered, gently kissing her hair. **

**She didn't say anything back, just held him tighter and he swallowed hard at the feel of her body shaking with silent sobs as she held onto him for dear life. Looking up over her shoulder, Pete saw Lara smiling softly at him as she made her way upstairs. He mouthed 'thank you' to her and she winked at him, smiling softly as she watched her best friend pull away from him, smiling for the first time in days before continuing upstairs, leaving them on their own. **

"**Look at you," Pete shook his head as he tilted her face up to his, examining the cut on her head. **

"**You should see the other guy," she joked, placing her hand on top of his. "He did this," she stated, reaching up and running a finger lightly along the bruise on his temple. "Are you ok?"**

"**I'm fine," he nodded, brushing her hair off of her face and placing a soothing kiss over the butterfly strip. "Everything's going to be ok now,"**

"**I know," she smiled up at him. "I trust you."**

**The words shot into Pete's soul and suddenly he felt weak again; how could she possibly trust him after everything that had happened? If she knew what he had done, what he was capable of doing…**

"**I love you," she whispered, as though reading his mind. **

"**I love you," he answered back, not letting himself think about it any more. Lowering his mouth down to hers, he kissed her softly, letting himself absorb the fact that she was ok. She was here in his arms and she loved him, and at the end of the day, that was all that mattered. He couldn't give her up, even if he wanted to; he could still remember one of the things Keith had said to him when they had first met Allie. **

_**Blokes like us don't get girls like that…**_

**It was true, but the one thing Pete hadn't thought about back then was that on the off chance blokes like them did manage to get girls like Allie, you didn't fucking let them go. **

**Ever. **


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: So I here we go with the Daily Edition-esque time jumps again…this chapter and everything after is set 2 YEARS IN THE FUTURE. Which means, yes, Matt will finally be showing his face (Although not till the next chapter). I hope you guys are still enjoying the story, thank you all for such amazing reviews and support; it's made writing this story so much more fun! Anyway, here it goes…enjoy!**

"**Go on, Harding!" Swill shouted as Allie downed what felt like her hundredth shot of the night. Slamming the now empty glass back onto the table, she grinned at him and the rest of the boys as they began shouting and cheering. **

"**Two more and you've fucking beaten Ike," Dave laughed at the young man at the end of the table with his head on his arms hiccupping loudly. "Mate, you're letting a bird beat you, fucking get your act together and do that triple shot now, while you can get some dignity back!"**

"**I'm going to fucking puke," Ike mumbled, slapping Swill across the face when he threw a discarded lemon wedge from when they'd been on tequila in his eye. **

"**It's all on you, Allie," Dave massaged her shoulders as though prepping her for a fight. "We lost Lara in the last round,"**

"**Hey, I fucking resigned, alright?" the red head called from where she was chatting to Terry at the bar. "There was no losing,"**

"**Look at them," he whispered, ignoring Lara's outburst and pointing to Pete and Bovver who were sat across from her, eyeing the line up of various coloured shots with a mixture of determination and concern. "See that fear in their eyes? You can take 'em," **

"**Eye of the tiger, baby," she whispered. **

"**Eye of the fucking tiger," Dave grabbed her hand. "You do this, and you're a legend,"**

"**I think I'm dying," she whispered back, clutching a fistful of his shirt for support. **

"**Bollocks you are," he shook his head. "I have faith," he pushed a triple shot of what she guessed was absinth in front of her and she almost fainted. "Come on,"**

**Taking a deep breath, she met Pete's eyes across the table and winked at him. **

"**Your arse is mine, Dunham," she grinned, trying to ignore the way his foot was creeping further and further up her leg beneath the table. **

"**We'll see," he winked back at her, raising his shot glass and then nudging Bovver. **

"**If your bird beats us, I'm never looking you in the fucking eye ever again." Bovver mumbled, eyeing the blonde warily. Sure, she looked all sweet and innocent, but the girl had already managed to drink Ike, Swill and Ned under the table and was showing no signs of backing down. Against his own will he had to admit that over the last three years, Allie had really grown on him and despite the fact that they both knew they were never going to be the best of mates, there was a common ground between them now that at least allowed them to be civil with one another. **

"**One, two…three!" Dave shouted and all three of them lifted their shot glasses, downing the icy liquid and wincing. Allie coughed harshly, before reaching for her glass of orange juice she had bought on the sly, claiming that there was vodka mixed with it. Tonight was her leaving do and being as such the boys had claimed that under no circumstances was she allowed to drink anything that didn't have alcoholic content. **

**Watching the laughing faces around her, Allie felt her heart sink knowing that this was the last time she would be here for two months. Jack, her and Lara's editor not to mention best mate, had volunteered Allie to go over to New York and sort out the Chanel account which had been royally fucked when one of the managers decided to go against the designers wishes for the photo shoot and very nearly lost the company a 30 year long contract. And so here she was in the Abby with her boyfriend and her friends for the last time in two months, completely drunk and suddenly feeling very emotional. **

"**I'm out," she shook her head tiredly, pushing away the last shot. **

"**Oh no you fucking don't!" Dave pushed it right back towards her. "I've got £30 riding on you, drink it!"**

"**Just one more?" she asked him, hiccupping slightly. **

"**Just one more," he nodded, handing her the shot glass and winking at her. "Finish 'em,"**

**Throwing back the last shot Allie grimaced at the bitterness of whatever the hell it was she had just drank and gulped down the remainder of her orange juice, looking up so see Pete laughing and shaking his head at her. **

"**Are you going to puke?" he asked her seriously. **

"**No," she protested, waving him off. **

"**You want to go get some air?" he raised an eyebrow as she glanced around the bar, hoping that everyone around **_**was**_** just actually moving in slow motion. **

"**Air would be good," she nodded, standing up and falling backwards into Dave. **

"**Come 'ere," Pete laughed, grabbing her by the waist and keeping his arms locked around her as he walked her towards the door, grinning to himself as she hiccupped. **

"**I fucking told them not to get you drunk," he shook his head, pushing her gently through the open door and out into the street. Following her closely, he led her over to the other side of the road and guided her to sit on one of the benches overlooking the river. Being late August, it was fairly warm, even at just gone midnight, but he still felt the need to whip his jacked off and place it around her shoulders. **

"**Bugger off," she mumbled, making him laugh. That was one of the things he and the boys pissed themselves at whenever they went drinking: after one too many shots, 'Posh Allie' came out. "I'm not drunk, I'm just…" she waved her hand and looked at him where he was crouched down in front of her, his hands on her knees for support. **

"**I have to go tomorrow," she whispered. **

"**Yeah, I know," he grinned. "I got roped into taking you to the fucking airport, remember?"**

**Dropping her head down into her hands, Allie groaned feeling the tears stinging her eyes; she was never that girl who got pissed and then cried all over her boyfriend, but she figured now was as good a time as any to start. **

"**Oi," Pete frowned, noticing her breathing had gotten harsher. Tilting her head up, he forced her to look at him, gently cupping her face in his hands. **

_**Oh shit,**_

**He could have the absolute crap beaten out of him and not feel a thing, but on the rare occasion he had seen Allie cry, it had very nearly fucking killed him. **

"**I have to leave tomorrow," she repeated, this time letting the tears fall, not caring in the slightest that she was drunk and incoherent, not to mention totally embarrassing herself. **

"**Babe," Pete shook his head, pulling her to him. **

"**Oh you can 'babe' me all you want," she sniffed. "You're not the one who had to leave! Pete, what if I hate it out there or what if I come back in seven weeks and you're shacked up with some other girl?"**

**Pete frowned at her, a slight smile pulling at his mouth. After three years with this woman, she still managed to throw his completely off balance. **

"**What are you talking about?" he shook his head. "What other girl?"**

"**I don't know," Allie looked up and saw the smile on his face, knowing that he was obviously taking all of this with a pinch of salt due to her 'delicate condition'. "I don't know anything any more,"**

"**Allie," Pete laughed, wiping the tears off of her cheeks. "You're pissed,"**

"**I know," she sobbed. "And I'm leaving and I don't think I want to go…"**

"**You do," Pete nodded. "I know how much you love your job, and I know that if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be thinking twice about taking it, so just listen to me, ok?" **

**She sniffed, her breath coming out in harsh pants as she tried to stop crying. **

"**I'm not going anywhere," he promised her. "Alright, you could be gone for seven weeks or seven years and I can fucking bet my life that I would still be in love with you. And as for finding another girl," he laughed. "You're it for me. There isn't anyone else out there that could piss me off, or make me laugh or make me as happy as you do."**

"**Pete," Allie looked at him with fresh tears in her eyes and he cupped her face in his hands. **

"**Yeah?"**

"**I'm going to be sick," she barely managed to shove him out of the way before vomiting behind one of the trees around them. **

**Wincing as she retched, Pete gently rubbed her back and waited for her to finish emptying the contents of her stomach before she stood up straight, leaning against the tree for support. **

"**Still love me now?" she grinned despite her embarrassment, wiping her mouth with a stray tissue she found in her pocket. **

"**Always," he winked at her then frowned when he noticed the goose bumps on her arms. "You're cold, do you want to go back inside?"**

"**No," she shook her head, taking his hand in hers. "Do you mind if we just…"**

"**Chill out here for a bit?" he asked her, leading her back to the bench and pulling her down in his lap. Neither of them spoke for a long time, they just looked out at the water, not letting themselves think about that fact that in 24hours time, she'd be half way across the world. Leaning back against his chest, Allie smiled as she looked down at their hands piled on top of one another over her flat stomach. **

"**I can't believe I out drank you," she giggled. **

"**I let you win," he told her, the smile evident in his voice. "And besides, you puked, that means you're disqualified."**

"**Don't be such a bastard!" she laughed. "Just because you're bitter that not only can I kick your sorry arse at pool, but now we know that I, Alyssa Scarlet Harding am the Queen of shots!"**

"**You should be very proud," Pete grinned, dropping his head to place a kiss on her shoulder and tugging his jacket tighter around her body. **

**Silence enveloped them again, and Allie was glad she was facing away from him; he wouldn't be able to see her crying her heart out, desperately trying to keep her sobs from escaping her throat. The alcohol was already beginning to wear off and she could feel the pain sweeping through her chest again. **

"**Tomorrow's going to be shit isn't it?" Pete whispered, gently kissing her temple. He knew that she was crying again, but she was trying to hard to cover it up that he knew calling her on it would only make her feel worse, so instead he just held her closer, linking his hands through hers. **

"**Yeah," Allie whispered, not quite trusting her voice to go any louder than that. "Yeah, it is."**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Bit of a schoolboy error on my part…becki2810 (Thank you sooo much hun!) pointed out that my time scale is a little bit…um, buggered I guess! I had no idea that the film is set over March and as Allie is leaving for 2 months in August it will only be October when she gets back, but YES Matt will be there. Apparently no one in my GSH universe owns a calendar so all logic of passing time has fucked off out the window:P Enjoy!**

**A/A/N: This is a VERY long chapter but have patience with it, it was a joy to write so I can only hope it doesn't totally suck to read! **

"**Ok, so you definitely have your passport, don't you?" Lara asked as she sat on the end of Allie's bed examining the huge suitcase that she was packing to take with her to New York. Lara hadn't quite admitted to herself that her best friend of over 15 years was leaving the country for over two months tomorrow, but she was going to miss her like hell. Who else would put up with her stumbling in drunk, or have late night bitch fests with her as they made their way through every possible flavour of Ben and Jerry's? **

"**Yeah, its here," Allie held it up and then threw it into her handbag. **

"**Big New York style sunglasses that make you look like a bug?" **

"**Yep."**

"**My going away gift?"**

**Allie looked up at her with a huge grin on her face. **

"**You got me a gift?" she squealed excitedly. "Lara, you didn't have to do that."**

"**I know, but I wanted to," Lara grinned, pulling out a bag from under the bed and handing it over. "Besides, I'm pretty sure that it's something you'll need."**

**Laughing with excitement, Allie opened the top of the lavishly decorated bag and looked into it trying to identify the strange item lying at the bottom…**

_**Oh. Sweet. Jesus.**_

"**Lara!" she shrieked, quickly shutting the bag again and clapping a hand over her mouth to try and contain her laughter. **

"**What?" the red head sat up straighter on the bed and giggled. "You're a grown woman about to be separated from her boyfriend for two months," she grinned mischievously. "I thought it might come in…handy."**

"**Oh my God," Allie shook her head, tears stinging her eyes as she laughed even harder. "You're insane!"**

"**What?" Lara asked, her eyes widening. "Hey, you'll thank me in a few days time when Pete isn't around to fix y-…"**

"**Hey baby!" Allie cried loudly, hurling a cushion at Lara's head and looking over her shoulder to where Pete was walking through the door. She knew that it was only a matter of time before letting him no where the spare key was got her into trouble. **

"**Alright?" he frowned at her as she quickly threw the bag she was holding behind her suitcase and smiled at him. "What was that?"**

"**That?" Allie shrugged. "That was nothing…"**

"**I bought her an electric toothbrush," Lara looked at him, trying to keep a straight face. "And I was just trying to explain to your girlfriend that as she's leaving her normal toothbrush here, then she'll need something to take to America with her." Looking at Allie seriously, she grasped her shoulders and sighed. "There's no shame in giving your teeth a good going over." Winking, she playfully slapped Allie's butt as she walked out of the room. "And I bought you extra strength batteries, so go nuts!"**

**Dropping her head into her hands, Allie felt tears stream down her face as she laughed. Who would have thought that the innocent looking flame haired girl with the face full of freckles she met at her first ballet class would turn into **_**that**_**….**

"**Should I even ask?" Pete looked at her, as she bent over, wrapping her arms around her stomach to ease the pain from laughing too hard. **

"**Probably best you don't." She grinned, wiping at her eyes and then sitting back down on her bed. **

"**You really need all that?" Pete gestured to the case and shook his head. **

**Birds always had to go overboard; see if it was him going away, he'd need his toothbrush, a couple of shirts, money, iPod, phone. Sorted. **

"**I'm going away for two months," she protested, smacking his hand away as he picked up her eyelash curlers and frowned at them as though they were torture devices. "Believe me, these are just the basics."**

**Reaching up, she pulled Pete down to her by his shirt causing him to fall slightly on top of her, his arms bracing himself on the bed either side of her. **

"**So, you're early," she mumbled against his mouth as he kissed her. "I thought we weren't meeting till 2?"**

**Allie's flight wasn't until 9pm tonight so they had decided that once she had said goodbye to Jack, Lara and her older brother Richard, she would be spending the rest of the day with him before he drove her to the airport. **

"**Yeah, well I just wanted to see how you were feeling," he winked, leaning down and placing a kiss on the hollow of her throat. **

"**Ugh," she groaned. "Like I drank my weight in spirits," **

"**Yeah, well next time you know that when you hear the words 'shot contest' come out of Swill's mouth, you walk the fuck away," he laughed. **

"**Hey, I had you all, ok?" she slapped the back of his shoulder. "It only became a problem when I had to get up and start walking places…" she frowned. "Which reminds me, how did…"**

"**I had to pry you away from out taxi driver who you were harassing about the fucking importance of shoes, and then carry you upstairs and put you to bed," he grinned. "You were still flat out when I left for work so I thought I'd let you sleep."**

**Allie more or less lived with Pete now, only spending a few nights a month at here; but being her childhood home, she couldn't quite bring herself to pack everything up and leave. **

"**Shit," she winced. "Was I really that bad?"**

"**Oi, don't worry about it," he kissed her once more before standing up straight and pulling her with him. "It's not as if you haven't done the same for me a few thousand times in the last three years, is it?"**

**Glancing at the old fashioned clock on her bedside table, Pete cursed and pulled away from her. How was it almost the end of lunch break already? Cursing again, he realised that he'd left his lesson plan for 5****th**** period at home; knowing he wouldn't have time to go back and get it, he just figured he'd wing it. These kids were 10…what did they know, anyway?**

"**Allie, babe, I'm sorry, I've got to run," he kissed her once more. "Be ready at 2, alright? None of this choosing the perfect shoes at the last minute bollocks," he grinned, letting her know he was kidding. **

"**Ok," she nodded rolling her eyes at him before turning back to finish packing her case. "I'll be ready, I promise."**

"**Oi," he called from the doorway and she turned to face him, suspicious of the smirk on his face. "Don't forget to pack your…toothbrush," he winked at then eyed the gift bag which they had obviously knocked off of the bed onto the floor. It was now lying open, the contents half out of it for all to see. **

"**Oh fuck," Allie covered her face with her hands, giggling despite her embarrassment, falling backwards onto the bed and listening to her boyfriend's laughter as he headed down the hall. **

…………………………

"**I mean come on," Allie laughed, following Pete off the tube carriage and onto the platform. "As if I would buy that for myself,"**

"**You don't have to make excuses to me, Allie," Pete winked, grinning at the look on her face. **

"**I am not…" she closed her eyes and held up her hand, taking calming breath. "You know what, Dunham? I don't need your little comments,"**

"**Yeah well apparently you don't need me for a lot of things any more," he quipped, laughing when she shoved him hard and he stumbled forward slightly. **

"**Piss off," she giggled, shaking her head as she realised where they were. She had thought they were going back to his house, yet here they were in…Brixton?**

"**Why are we here?" she frowned as he took her hand and tugged her up the stairs that led to the upper platform. **

"**You don't recognise it?" Pete looked at her with a faint smile on his face as he stopped suddenly right in the middle of the stairs. Luckily, being 2 in the afternoon, there was barely anyone around them so they didn't look too crazy just stood there staring at each other. **

"**It's a tube station," she laughed, meeting his twinkling blue eyes. "Have you taken one too many punches to the head, hun?"**

"**It was three years ago next week that I first met you," he told her. "Right here on these steps."**

**Suddenly, the image of a younger version of Pete and herself flashed through Allie's head, stood on this very spot, flirting shamelessly while she still tried to mentally convince herself that she was afraid of him and that it was only the adrenaline rushing through her body making her want to jump him. **

"**Oh my God," Allie gasped. **

"**Meaning," he climbed another step so that he was level with her again. "That this time 3 years ago, I had no idea who you were and I was probably fucking miserable. See I used to think that my life was perfect, you know, I had the boys and school and the GSE," Pete shook his head. "I had everything all planned out and then you came along and everything went to shit."**

"**Smooth talker," Allie joked, rolling her eyes. **

"**I know," Pete scratched the back of his head. "I'm shit at this romantic bollocks, but…basically it comes down to this. I fell in love with you that night, it took me a little while longer to realise it but I did. And since then, I've been happier than I thought that I ever would be, and it's all been down to you."**

**Smiling at him, Allie tried not to let the sting of tears in her eyes get to her too much; if she let herself break down now, she'd be a lost cause. Instead, she settled for reaching up and kissing the man in front of her with every ounce of strength she had left in her body. **

"**You do realise that this is almost sickeningly romantic don't you?" she whispered, tugging on his bottom lip with her teeth. "And the abuse you'd get if your mates knew you'd gone all soft…"**

"**Probably," he smirked. "But when they're at home with only their right hand for company on a Saturday night, who'll be fucking laughing then?"**

"**You are so smooth," Allie narrowed her eyes at him. "Seriously, how did I land such a gentleman?"**

"**Luck, I guess," he smirked. "So do you want the rest of the surprise or not?"**

"**Surprise?" Allie raised an eyebrow. What exactly was he planning here? "You mean there's more?"**

"**Yeah, 'course there is but we have to move quickly, because that's our fucking train, come on!" he shouted, tugging her along behind him, laughing as they barely made it through the door without loosing a single limb. **

"**So, how many more 'surprises' do I get exactly?" Allie asked him, trying not to shoot daggers at the group of girls who were looking Pete up and down like he was their next meal. **

"**Just the one." He told her, trying not to let his nerves show. "It's at my place, so you haven't got that long to wait."**

"**Should I be scared?" She teased, smiling when one of his arms wrapped around her shoulders and his lips found her forehead. **

"**A little fear never hurt anyone," he told her with a mysterious grin. **

"**Yeah, I'm sure." She glanced at her watch as they stepped off the train and winced. It was already 3, which meant that she had five hours left with him before she had to go. Swallowing back the lump in her throat, Allie pasted a smile on her face just as Pete turned around to see if she was ok. Whatever he was planning, he'd obviously gone to a lot of trouble so he probably didn't want her whinging all over the place. **

**Holding his hand tighter, she followed him through the crowds and up the stairs to the street where she was greeted by the warm mid August sunshine, a welcome contrast to the iciness of the underground. They walked along leisurely, falling into their usual effortless conversation both of them dancing expertly around the subject of her imminent departure. **

"**You have to close your eyes," Pete told her when they reached his front door. **

"**What?"**

"**The eyes," he pointed at her sternly. "Close 'em and keep 'em that way till I tell you, alright?"**

"**Bloody hell," she laughed, doing as she was told. "Yes sir."**

**Grinning, Pete pulled her through the dingy looking foyer of his block of flats and into the lift, pushing the button for the top floor, he turned to look at her and frowned. Her eyes were closed, but he had to be careful with this. **

"**Stop it," Allie mumbled as he waved his hand in front of her face. **

"**Oi!" Pete laughed. "You said you weren't going to look!"**

"**I'm not," she protested. "I just know what you're like,"**

**Rolling his eyes, Pete let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding as the lift came to a stop at the very top floor of the building. Gently pulling Allie with him, he stepped out onto the roof top and watched as Allie frowned. **

"**Are we outside?" she looked around, despite having her eyes still squeezed shut. **

"**Can I open them now?"**

**Adjusting one last thing on the table, Pete turned to face her suddenly grateful that the breeze had died down otherwise he was almost certain that all his time and energy that he'd spent would have gone to shit. **

"**Alright," he nodded and watched as she opened her eyes, the shimmering emerald orbs dancing over their surroundings and taking everything in. He felt a huge grin pulling at his lips as he noticed the way she gasped and put her hands over her mouth. **

"**Oh my God!" she laughed, clasping her hands under her chin. "You did all this?"**

"**Yeah," he nodded, leaning back slightly against the table he had set up. "I'm not a total emotional retard you know,"**

**The usually unlit Chinese lanterns which one of the tenants of the building had put up a few years back for a New Years eve party and forgot to take down sparkled above their heads, even in the afternoon sunshine; the small table was draped with a black table cloth and a bowl of water containing floating candles sat in the middle. Pete's stereo was sat on the wall next to it, and as he clicked the remote the sound of Zero 7, one of the CD's she had left at his flat and, although Pete would never admit it, he listened to whenever she wasn't there began drifting around them. It was the exact recreation of their first official date. **

"**Actually," he narrowed his eyes. "What we were saying earlier about me being shit at romance, I take that back. I am the fucking dog's bollocks of romance,"**

**Allie laughed, shaking her head at his choice of words. Only Pete Dunham could actually make that sound somehow adorable. **

**Taking off his jacket, he slung it over the back of one of the chairs and winked at her. **

"**I actually have to go back down to my flat and get the food and stuff," he gestured to the other chair. "You sit there and I'll be back in a sec," he leant down to kiss her as he passed and then felt her grab his hand when he moved to pull away.**

"**Pete," she called, looking at him with a huge smile on her face. "Thanks for this, it's…" she shrugged. "It's really amazing,"**

"**It ain't over yet," he winked at her before walking through the door. Listening to his footsteps grow quieter and quieter on the stairs, Allie sighed and walked over to the table. **

**He was right; romance wasn't his thing, but then it wasn't hers either. She'd been there and done that with the whole flowers and chocolates crap. Blokes like Will could spend £100 on a bouquet of flowers and not blink an eye, but men like Pete could know what you were thinking just from looking into your eyes, or make your heart skip with a simple smile. **

**To Allie, **_**that **_**was romance. **

**Pulling out the chair opposite his she sat back and looked up at the sky, she frowned at the plane flying above her; she wanted to forget that she was leaving in a few hours, but apparently the Universe had other plans. Leaning back, she put her feet on Pete's chair and swore when she knocked the bloody thing over. **

**Sighing, she stood up and walked around the table to pick it up, reaching for Pete's coat which had come off in the process. Standing up, she went to walk back to her side of the table when something hard under her foot stopped her. **

**Frowning down at the small black box, Allie picked it up and carelessly flipped it open. **

_**Holy. Fucking. Jesus. **_

**Eyes widening, she stared back at the simple silver ring with the small diamond in its centre and felt her heart leap as his words from a moment ago echoed through her brain. **

'_**It ain't over yet.'**_

**This was the other surprise…he was going to propose to her. Here on the roof of his building where they'd had their first official date with her flight less than four hours away now. It was ridiculous, she thought with a laugh. It was scary. **

**It was perfect. **

**Hearing footsteps approaching the door, she gasped and shoved the box back into his coat pocket, then standing up and trying to look as innocent as she possibly could. **

"**Allie?" Pete called, managing to prop open the door with his shoulder. "Do you mind giving me a hand?"**

"**Yeah," she called back, wincing at how high pitched her voice had come out. **

**We're going for blasé, she thought, nonchalant…casual.**

"**You alright?" Pete asked her, handing her a bottle of wine and some glasses. **

_**Alyssa Scarlet Dunham. Shit, that sounded good. **_

_**Stop it!**_** Her brain screamed at her. **_**Quit being a psycho and answer the poor man before he thinks you've had a stroke or something!**_

"**Yeah," she smiled shakily. "I'm fine, I just…I dunno, I almost fell asleep so I'm a bit out of it."**

"**Well, if you want we can just go back inside and you can kip for an hour?" Pete gently rubbed her arm. **

"**No!" Allie shouted, causing him to raise an eyebrow. "It's just I'm hungry and you've gone through so much trouble with all this…" she smiled, trying to calm herself. "I want to stay here."**

"**You sure?" he frowned. Why was she so jumpy all of a sudden?**

"**Positive," she nodded, popping the cork on the wine and pouring them each a glass.**

"**Right then," he started loading the dishes onto the table. "I ordered all this from that restaurant you like, that little Italian place on the corner."**

"**Osteria Romana?" Allie grinned, her mouth watering as the smell of perfectly cooked lasagne filled her nose. **

"**That's the one," Pete held a bowl of salad out to her. "You like that Caesar shit, don't you?"**

"**Yes, I do." Allie laughed and then clapped a hand over her mouth, realising what she'd said. **

_**I do…**_**she shook her head at her own stupidity. **_**Very fucking subtle, Harding. **_

"**What's wrong with you?" Pete narrowed his eyes at her. "I leave you for five fucking minutes and It's like you're having a mental breakdown."**

"**Me?" Allie shook her head. "No, I'm just nervous about the flight," she nodded as though confirming the story more with herself than with him. "I hate flying,"**

"**No you don't," Pete laughed. "Remember when I almost had to physically fight you for the pissing window seat when we went to Greece last year?"**

"**Right," Allie mentally kicked herself. "Um, I just mean, I hate flying long distance, you know, knowing my luck I'll get stuck next to Gary, a 36-year-old overweight divorcee on the rebound," she joked, her smile fading when she noticed that Pete wasn't buying any of it. **

**Shit!**

**With Will it had been different; she could have walked into his flat with a spear through her chest and he'd still assume she was fine, but Pete knew her…which meant he picked up on things. **

**Which meant she was fucked. **

"**Allie…" Pete took a step forward and heard something crunch under his shoe. Looking down, he saw the pen that he had borrowed of Benjamin at work earlier to do the register when the fire alarm had gone off. Why was it on the floor?**

**Suddenly, it all hit him; Allie acting weird, the pen on the ground….**

"**This was in my pocket," he told her, holding up the broken pen. "How'd it get on the floor?"**

"**Um," Allie took a step back. Oh shit, this was bad. This was very, very bad. **

"**Maybe it was the wind?" Allie tried, shrugging. **

"**Fuck me, you're terrible at lying," Pete laughed, shaking his head. **

"**Alright!" Allie cried, putting up her hands and taking a deep breath. "Look, I accidentally knocked your chair over and then your coat obviously fell off and stuff fell out, so I put it back and that was it, I swear,"**

**Nodding, Pete pursed his lips, looking down at the cracked pen in his hands. **

"**See anything interesting?" he looked up at her, feeling more than a little evil at taking such pleasure in torturing her. **

"**Nope," she answered quickly. "Nothing…"**

"**Right," Pete reached back into his coat and pulled out the black box, turning it over in his fingers and watching her eyes light up. "So you didn't see this then?"**

"**No," Allie widened her eyes, trying to look innocent. "What is it?"**

"**Allie," Pete laughed, shaking his head. **

"**Fuck," she cried, flopping back onto her chair and putting her head in her hands. "I'm sorry, ok? I didn't know what it was and I, I don't know, I'm a nosy bitch, so I looked…"**

"**I can't fucking take you anywhere, can I?" Pete laughed, crouching down in front of her and holding onto her knees to keep himself steady. **

"**I'm sorry," Allie placed her hands over his. "I never should have put my fucking feet on the chair…" she dropped her head into her hands again. "What kind of girl sits like that anyway? You know, what? I should leave, let you cool down…" she began walking towards the door and Pete grinned.**

"**So you don't want to marry me then?" he called, watching as she stopped dead in her tracks. Walking over to her, Pete stepped in front of her and tilted her chin up so that she was looking at him, the utter shock in her eyes making his heart leap. Why was it that despite knowing what he was planning on doing with that ring, hearing the words aloud had almost caused her heart to stop?**

"**Allie," Pete smiled down at her, brushing a piece of hair off of her face. "I'm not angry. You want the truth, no I didn't plan on it going like this, but then that's pretty much the story of our life, isn't it?"**

**Allie laughed quietly, trying to focus on staying upright in and not falling to the floor laughing hysterically. Pete Dunham was proposing. To her. The man who everyone from Lara to Pete's own sister-in-law had at one time warned her about was standing in front of her with a ring. **

"**Because lets face it, I don't know about you, but that night on the tube when I first met you came out of fucking nowhere." He grinned at her. "And it hit me straight between the eyes because before you, I had everything sussed. My job, my mates, the GSE…everything was planned out and then you came along and it all went to shit,"**

"**Thanks," Allie snorted, looking up at the sky and shaking her head. **

"**I mean it in a good way," Pete nudged her, bringing her eyes back to his. "See you changed everything, you made me different. And you did it without meaning to, or without making me feel like I'm less than you, or that I don't deserve you, even though I know I don't."**

"**Don't say that," Allie shook her head. "Its bullshit and you know it,"**

"**Look, I know that I've taken you for granted at times," he stooped so that he was on one knee, determined to make this at least semi-romantic. Birds loved that crap. "And that there are times when you want to kill me, but all I know is that I have never, ever met anyone like you. Someone who can piss me off and make me laugh at the same time, or who can make my heart stop every time I think about them."**

**Allie felt tears start to sting her eyes and looked down at him, her brain trying to process what had happened in the past five minutes…it was all moving too fast. **

"**Shit like that happens to Steve, not me." He told her honestly meaning it as he remembered the times when he would listen to Steve jabber on about Shannon, not understanding how a woman could evoke all that crap out of someone. **

**Fuck, he owed his brother an apology on top of everything now. **

"**But you," he shook his head. "You scare the shit out of me. Because you made me feel all of that and it made me love everything about you. And that's scary." **

**Allie laughed, wiping away a stray tear that had come out of her eyes; she'd thought about this moment over and over again, always convinced that she would never be the annoying girlfriend who ended up crying. Bollocks. **

"**I love the way you smile in your sleep right before you wake up," Pete grinned. "You don't know it, but you do. I love the way you sing really fucking awful songs in the shower even when you know I can hear you, I even love that you can kick my arse at pool,"**

**Allie raised an eyebrow at him, remembering how much he had complained about it when they first met. **

"**Yeah, I know I bitched, but it was kind of a turn on," he joked. "And I love how you are with Ben and my mates…fucking hell, I love that you can actually stand my mates,"**

**Allie giggled, squeezing his fingers tightly as he grabbed her left hand, gently stroking his thumb over her knuckles. **

_**It's now or never, Dunham **_**he thought, ignoring the fact it felt like he was having major heart palpitations. **_**Just grow a pair and spit it out…then deal with what comes after. **_

"**I know that we're far from perfect, alright? And I know that you're pissing off to New York in a few hours and that I'm not going to see you for 2 months, but fuck it, I love you," he gulped, his throat suddenly very dry. "And as far as I can tell, that's all that matters right now, so just give me a shot at trying to make you as happy as you make me," he shrugged, opening the small box and holding it out to her. "Marry me,"**

**Allie stared down at the ring and bit her lip. Oh dear God, this was scary…**

"**Come on, it'll be a laugh if nothing else," he joked, not letting himself think about the fact she'd been silent for over a minute now. Allie and silence never went in the same sentence…ever.**

"**That was pretty romantic for an emotional retard," Allie laughed, sniffing as she met his eyes. **

"**I tried," he grinned lop-sidedly at her. "So what'd you reckon?"**

**Allie tipped her head to one side and sighed; the smile pulling way to hard on her lips for her to try and stop it. **

"**Yes,"**

**It was almost a whisper, and she only said it once, but it was enough for Pete. **

"**Yes?" he frowned at her. **

"**Yes," she nodded, giggling and clapping her hand over her mouth. This felt surreal…she was engaged to Pete. Laughing harder, she watched as he jumped to his feet and looked down at her seriously. **

"**About fucking time," he shook his head. "I was getting cramp in my knee."**

**Grinning suddenly, he picked her up and laughed when she squealed in his ear. She was going to be his wife. Fuck, that was insane. But it sounded very, very good to him. **

**Reaching down between them, he slipped the ring on her finger and they both looked down at it, almost warily. **

"**It's not like we have to go out and do it tomorrow," Pete reasoned. **

"**Yeah, I mean I was thinking maybe Christmas, that gives us four months, and I think that's pretty reasonable, don't you?" Allie laughed when his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. "Oh I am having so much fun with this," **

"**You get one more and then I take it back," he told her sternly, reaching for her hand and laughing when she pulled away from him. **

**They both knew that it would be another year at least before they actually got married. Too much was going on in both their lives and now they had the promise, the evidence that it would eventually happen. There was no rush, not with them. **

"**I'm kidding," Allie wrapped her arms around his neck, forcing her eyes away from the ring and back to his eyes. "I'm not in any rush…in fact, its pretty convenient really."**

"**Yeah?" Pete grinned, pulling her body closer and watching her eyes darken. **

"**Yeah," Allie nodded. "Say we get married when we're 27…that's three years before you make an honest woman out of me,"**

"**I'm pretty sure you're Dad knows that you're not a…" Pete laughed. **

"**Of course he thinks I am," Allie frowned. "But we know otherwise, which means you have three years to carry on corrupting me," she grinned as he lifted her up and brought her face so close to his that she could feel his breath on her lips. **

"**Starting now," she whispered as he closed the distance between them. It didn't take long until they were both on the floor, and things were getting unbuttoned at a pretty impressive rate. **

"**We better move inside," Allie mumbled against his mouth, throwing her head back and trying to form something resembling a coherent thought as his mouth attacked her neck. **

"**Why?" he growled, fighting with the buttons on her shirt. Why did birds need so many fucking buttons on everything? **

"**Because I don't think your neighbours ever recovered from last time," she giggled at the memory, when they had accidentally gotten trapped out here during a power cut and eventually found a much more entertaining way of passing the time than playing 'I Spy…'. **

"**Good point," Pete grinned, picking her up and practically dragging her down the stairs with him. They had another few hours before her plane was due…it wasn't as long as he'd like, but he had a few ideas of how to fill the time. **

………………………………

**Pete strolled into the Abby, catching sight of the boys who all immediately stopped talking, all of their attention focused on the blue eyed man in front of them.He'd just got back from the airport, and after taking a few minutes in his car to get himself together, he had managed to drag his arse into the pub where he knew they'd all be waiting to find out what Allie's answer had been. **

"**Alright mate," Dave nodded as Pete took a seat next to Bovver. **

"**Well?" Bov raised an eyebrow. **

"**Well what?" Pete shrugged taking a sip of Keith's beer. Sensing their frustration, he grinned; he knew how much they loved Allie, even Bovver who up until a few months back had still been a bit of a prick to her had started grinning when Pete had announced that he was thinking of asking her to marry him. **

"**Allie you stupid bastard," Bovver shoved him. "What'd she say?"**

"**She said that we're only allowed to go to Prague for the stag do if she can go to fucking Paris for her hen night," he shook his head. "Can you believe that?"**

**None of the boys spoke for a long moment and then all of them started shouting. **

**Pete laughed as Swill tugged him into a bone crushing hug, looking over at Bovver, he caught the small smile playing on his lips and knew everything was going to be ok. **


	18. Chapter 18

**SIX WEEKS LATER**

**Pete rolled over and glanced at his bedside clock, groaning when he saw that it had just gone 11am. Turning his attention back to his ringing phone, he blinked the sleep out of his eyes trying to see what he was doing but eventually giving up and flipping the phone open. **

"'**Ello?" he mumbled into the handset, pinching the bridge of his nose where he could feel the bruise developing beside his eye. He'd almost forgotten about the fight that he had gotten into yesterday trying to protect Matt, but his bruised body was fast reminding him. **

"**Shit, sorry baby," Allie's voice drifted down the phone and immediately he was smiling, the pain in his face as he did so more than worth it. "I didn't mean to wake you up,"**

"**You didn't," Pete told her, sitting up in bed, unable to prevent himself from glancing over at the empty space beside him and trying to vision her there next to him. "How's my girl?"**

"**Busy," she laughed. "It's 6am out here and I haven't been to bed yet," she yawned, grinning at her friend Nathan who was asleep on his desk, 'Georgio Armani is my Homeboy' written on his forehead with magic marker. **

"**Fucking hell," Pete shook his head. "What are you doing out there?"**

"**It's me and Nathan again," Allie smiled, looking at the photo she had of her and Pete on her desk. "We finished the account last night and now it's just the paper work left to do,"**

**Pete nodded, absentmindedly gripping the sheets a little harder when she mentioned that she was with Nathan. Pete trusted Allie completely, but he couldn't help but feel a little bit threatened by the fact that she was spending pretty much every fucking waking minute with some New York pretty boy who just happened to love fashion like she did and be the only one of Allie's male friends who was straight. **

"**I miss you so much," she whispered, the stress of the job she was doing, plus her desperate need for sleep making her feel drained. "I just want to come home now,"**

"**Believe me; I fucking want you here, too." Pete closed his eyes, willing to sell his soul if it meant she would appear next to him. "But it's only what, a week now?"**

"**Yeah," Allie nodded, looking at the huge red star she had put on her calendar to note the day she returned back to London. "Another week and I'm all yours again," **

"**Thank Christ," he laughed. "I need you here, because we may have to fucking tag-team my family."**

"**Why?" Allie laughed back, reaching for her cold and stale cup of coffee, deciding it was better than nothing at the moment. **

"**My Mum's been fucking going on and on at me ever since I told her we were engaged," he shook his head. "And Shannon keeps asking me when the wedding's going to be."**

"**Did you tell them not for another year at least?"**

"**Yeah," Pete snorted. "Biggest fucking mistake of my life…apparently we're living in sin,"**

"**As if we weren't before," Allie laughed louder. "I know it's easier for your mum to think that all we do is hold hands, but surely she must realise…"**

"**Babe, don't even get me started," he groaned. **

"**So how are things with Shannon's brother?" Allie asked. **

"**Matt?" Pete glanced at the door where the American was more than likely still passed out in the living room. "He's alright, took a bit of a beating yesterday, but other than that, he's fine."**

"**You got him beaten up on his first day in the country?" Allie shook her head in amazement. As much as she loved Pete, she hated the GSE but knew how important it was to him so more often than not, she made a habit of biting her tongue. **

"**We didn't get him beaten up," Pete frowned, suddenly defensive. "He got attacked, you know if we hadn't come along fuck knows what would've happened."**

"**Ok, ok," Allie rolled her eyes. "But other than being bruised and battered, he's ok?"**

"**Yeah, once we get some breakfast in him, he'll be dandy," Pete smirked.**

"**Ok, well I'll let you go," she picked up an empty Starbucks cup and threw it at Nathan's head, laughing at the strangled groan he let out as he flipped her the middle finger. "We've got work to do, but I'll call again later, ok?"**

"**I love you," Pete told her, swinging his legs off of the bed and reaching for the cleanest looking shirt he could find. **

"**Love you, too," Allie smiled. "Bye,"**

"**Bye."**

**Pete flipped the phone shut again and stretched. Sitting there for a moment, he caught his reflection in the mirror and winced; he hadn't remembered anyone catching him, but the bruise circling his left eye said otherwise. Chucking his phone back onto the bed, he made his way to the door and opened it, grinning to himself when he saw Matt passed out on the sofa. **

_**Yanks, **_**he thought with a laugh. **_**A couple of pints and a bit of a scrap and they pass out on you…**_

"**Morning sunshine," he called, laughing when Matt winced. "How'd you feel?"**

"**Ugh," Matt groaned, struggling to sit up. "A little sore."**

"**Ah," Pete smiled at him knowingly. The first time he'd had a proper fight, he hadn't left his bed for about two days, but then to be fair, he was only about 12. **

"**Proper English breakfast, double dose of aspirin, you'll feel sweet as a nut, mate,"**

**Reaching out to take the bottle of water Pete was holding out to him, Matt opened it and took a long sip, ignoring his back as it protested at the movement, begging him to lie back down. **

"**Right," Pete yawned tiredly, walking towards the bathroom. "I gotta piss like a race horse,"**

**Laughing, Matt waited for the bathroom door to close before moving quickly to stand in front of Pete's living room mirror and inspecting his face. Shit, it was actually worse than he'd thought it would be. Sighing, he leant his arms on the mantle piece and glanced up, one of the photos on the shelf catching his eye. **

**It was a girl…but she was stunning. And not like, 'oh, she's pretty' stunning, but in a trip-over-your-own-tongue-whilst-walking-through-traffic-just-to-find-out-her-name kind of stunning. **

"**Alright, mate?" Pete asked, emerging from the bathroom with a towel around his shoulders. Following Matt's gaze, he raised an eyebrow and moved to stand beside him. **

"**Yeah, I was just looking at," Matt gestured to the photo. "She's really beautiful. What is she? Like a girlfriend? Or Sister or something?"**

"**Nah mate," Pete laughed. "That's my girlfriend Allie," he frowned. "Fiancé now actually." **

"**You have a fiancé?" Matt frowned, looking around the apartment. Now that he wasn't drunk and focused on solely finding a soft surface to sleep on, he could see the feminine touches to the small apartment; the candles scattered about, the cushions on the couch, the fact that the fridge was fully stocked. There was no way that was down to a bloke. **

"**Yeah," Pete grinned, looking at the photo of Allie he had taken on holiday last year. After spending an entire afternoon on the beach harassing him with the camera, he'd pinned her to the floor and grabbed it off her, finally getting his revenge. "You'll get to meet her soon enough, she's working abroad at the moment, but she's back early next week,"**

"**Right," Matt nodded, still not able to take his eyes away from the photo. **

"**Come on," Pete whistled at him. "We better get over to Shannon and Steve's, I think they want proof that you're still alive."**

"**Barely," Matt joked, picking up his jacket and trying not to focus on the pain that shot through his face when he laughed. **

"**We'll grab some breakfast on the way back if you want," Pete called over his shoulder as they walked through the door and down the hall towards the elevator. **

"**Sounds good to me," Matt fished his cigarettes out of his pocket and twirled one in his fingers, waiting until he got to the ground floor to light it. **

"**When we get to the house, don't say anything about what happened yesterday," Pete zipped up his jacket. **

"**Do you not think they're going to guess?" Matt frowned, gesturing to the state of both of them. **

"**I know," he nodded. "But just…look mate, I don't mean this badly but your sister has a tendency to…"**

"**Go crazy?" Matt finished for him. **

"**Yeah, and I've been on the end of enough Shannon-rants in my time to know when to be afraid," he winked at the American and stepped out of the elevator. Following him down the street, Matt smiled as they fell into friendly conversation; the kind that came easily to old friends, not some bloke you didn't even know 24 hours ago. Rounding the corner towards Shannon's house, Matt braced himself for the onslaught of questions, all the while unable to silence the annoying voice in the back of his head that kept asking him why he was having so much trouble not thinking about the stunning blonde girl he's seen in the photograph. **

**...A/N: Yay, I hear you cry! It wasn't an empty promise, Matt IS actually in this story! Sorry this chapter was a bit short but the next one will make up for it. Let's just say that Allie comes back and things start to kick off. But this story is far from over and believe me there are some pretty HUGE twists to come. Thank you for all the reviews for the last chapter, I can't tell you how nervous I was about writing that one! Anyway, I've rambled enough...hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next will be up probably tomorrow (I'm a busy girl!) So feel free to review to your hearts content! xxx**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: I know, I know…2 updates in 48 hours is slightly insane but 'tis the season to be generous with fanfic so consider this a late Christmas present! This is for all those of you who have been amazing enough to review and keep me going! A belated Merry Christmas! xxx**

**Matt Buckner glanced at the petite brunette by the bar and felt a grin pull at his lips when he noticed that she was staring. He'd only been coming to the Abby with Pete and his mates for just under a week, but he was already completely at ease here. **

**Looking at Bovver who was staring straight back at him with what he could only describe as pure disgust in his eyes, Matt winced slightly. **

**Well, maybe not **_**completely **_**at ease. **

"**Mate, just fucking grow a pair and go talk to her," Pete nudged him, finishing his text to Allie and then dropping his phone on the table. **

"**Huh?"**

"**That bird you've been staring at all night," he laughed. "Just go and work the American charm or whatever, they love that bollocks."**

"**I can't just walk over to her," Matt shook his head. He'd only really had about three girlfriends in his entire life, but didn't necessarily feel the need to share that with the boys. "I need a wing man," **

"**Don't fucking look at me," Pete laughed, leaning back and shaking his head.**

"**Why not?" Matt frowned at him as he downed the dregs of his rapidly warming beer. **

"**I prefer my balls to be attached to my body, thanks," sensing Matt's confusion, he rolled his eyes and leant forward slightly. "Allie," he told him with a knowing look. Matt's eyes widened and he nodded; he'd heard a lot about Pete's fiancé from the boy's and even his sister. In fact Allie was the only aspect of having Pete around that Shannon seemed to like. **

"**Allie, as in your…um, girlfriend, right?" Matt asked, completely missing the look that Bovver was giving him. He had learned the hard way that the best way to deal with Bovver's shit was to ignore it.**

"**Fiancé, apparently" Pete laughed, still getting used to saying that. "But yeah, ****she's been in New York for 2 months," Pete told him, giving the waitress a smile as she placed a pint of orange juice down in front of him. It was sports day tomorrow so that meant no alcohol tonight; taking a long sip, he stared enviously at Bovver's pint.**

"**She's due back tomorrow night," he turned to Matt. "Chances are she'll be crashing at my place, that alright with you?"**

"**Yeah, of course." Matt nodded. "New York, huh?"**

"**Yeah, some fashion thing," Pete laughed and shook his head. "Fuck if I know,"**

**Ike swore loudly at the fruit machine and walked back over to the table, slumping down in his chair.**

"**You've not met Allie, have you Matt?" he asked, locating a sole cigarette in his pocket and lighting it. "Mate, she's fit as fuck."**

"**Yeah, I saw her photo," Matt agreed, wincing when he realised he probably shouldn't have said that aloud. **

**Catching the look Pete gave him, Dave stepped in.**

"**She's a great girl, is what Ike is trying to say," slapping Ike who by this point had gone a rather bright shade of red on the shoulder, Dave laughed and nodded to Pete.**

**Laughing somewhat nervously and shaking his head, Matt took another sip of his beer, grimacing as the bitter cold liquid trickled down his throat; he still was not used to the taste of British lager. Licking his lips thoughtfully, he wondered what Allie was like; Pete mentioned that they had been together for three years. Smiling as he recalled the story of how they met, Matt suddenly became quite nervous of the girls imminent return.**

"**Hey, Pete should I maybe stay with Shannon for a few days?" he asked with a shrug. "You know, just in case, I mean, you guys are probably gonna want some, uh, 'alone time', right?"**

**Raising an eyebrow and grinning at the American, Pete shook his head and clapped him on the shoulder.**

"**Nah, mate you're alright," he told him with confidence. "Allie's sound, she won't mind."**

**Nodding, Matt turned his attention back to the conversation and downed the dregs of his pint, reaching for one of the cigarettes Keith was offering. He just hoped Pete was right; but in the back of his mind he couldn't help wondering why he was so nervous about meeting this girl.**

"**What's this?" Pete asked as Matt pushed an envelope into his hands as they made their way up the stairs to his apartment.**

"**Its rent," Matt told him, pulling the strap of his backpack further up on his shoulder.**

"**Oh fuck off," Pete answered, handing the envelope back to Matt, with a frown. "You're a mate and I'm not taking your money alright?"**

**Shaking his head, Matt realised that he should have known better; of course Pete wouldn't take any money from him…that just wouldn't be Pete. He had told him on numerous occasions that he would do absolutely anything for any of the boys and unlike most people Pete Dunham meant it. There was not anything that he wouldn't do for his mates.**

**Approaching the door to his flat, Pete dug around in his pocket for his keys, frowning when he realised that the door was unlocked. Turning to Matt, he tilted his head in confusion.**

"**Mate, did you lock the door when you left this morning?" he asked, with his hand still on the handle.**

**Nodding, Matt moved to stand beside him, listening for any noises coming from within the apartment. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I did."**

**With a shrug, Pete pushed the door open, pausing for a moment when he heard the sound of the TV coming from the living room. For a moment he thought that perhaps it could be Bovver or even Steve, both of whom he had had somehow come to own a set keys to his flat, but he quickly remembered that Bovver was still at the pub and Steve would either be with Shannon or at work. Moving further into the apartment, he frowned when he caught sight of a suitcase next to the kitchen counter. The TV was on, the kettle was boiled and there was a hot cup of coffee on the counter. Someone was definitely here, but with Matt behind him, the boys at the pub and Steve still at work that only left…**

"**No banners, no balloons?" Pete grinned and turned in the direction of the familiar voice, his eyes soaking up the sight of Allie as she leant against the door of his bedroom smiling with one eyebrow raised. "It's official; you throw the shittiest home comings ever."**

**Moving over to her, Pete grabbed her and picked her up, kissing her and silencing her squeal of surprise. Inhaling the smell of her hair and her perfume, something that he had missed so much over the past two months, he met her eyes and returned her smile.**

"**Alright stranger?" He said, still not putting her down. It had been too long without her and having her here now almost felt surreal.**

"**Oh so you didn't forget about me then?" she asked, wrapping her arms more securely around his neck.**

"**I tried," he told her jokingly, laughing when she smacked him on the back of the head and muttered 'fuck off' under her breath. Putting her back down on the floor, and drinking in the sight of her, Pete noticed with relief that she hadn't changed at all. Her honey coloured hair was slightly longer, falling in gentle curls around her face and her eyes lacked their usual glow from hours of jet-lag, but aside from that she was the same Allie he had dropped off at the airport seven weeks ago. He leaned in and kissed her again, a kiss that she happily returned, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her body as close to his as she could manage. Pete pulled her closer and her feet left the floor for a second as she moaned quietly into the kiss, pressing her back against the door frame he tried to bear in mind that Matt was still in the room and that all of the images of what he wanted to do to her right now were beyond inappropriate. **

"**How come you're back today?" he mumbled against her mouth, grinning when she made a sound of distress as his lips left hers for that brief second. **

"**Early flight," she kissed him hotly. "Thought I'd surprise you,"**

**Suddenly sensing someone else in the room, Allie pulled away and glanced past Pete to see a young man standing awkwardly next to the kitchen counter, looking everywhere but at them. Smiling and pushing a hand through her hair, she smiled at him and jokingly shoved Pete out of the way.**

"**Hey, you must be Matt, right?" she asked, holding out her hand and grinning. "Pete mentioned you on the phone, I'm Allie."**

**Shaking her hand and trying his best not to look shocked, Matt smiled in return. The faded photo on Pete's mantle hadn't done her justice…she was beyond stunning. Even with jet lag, in her converses, hipster jeans and grey vest top, she looked like she had stepped out of a magazine.**

"**Yeah, listen, I'm sorry about being here, I know that this is your first night back, and…"**

"**Hey," Allie told him with a laugh, waving her hand dismissively. "It's fine; after spending a month with arseholes who are convinced that whether you're wearing Armani or Chanel is the most important thing in the world, it will be nice to have a conversations with some normal people." Moving around the bar and into the kitchen, she grabbed two more mugs out of the cupboard and started making coffee again. Leaning her head on her arms, she met Matt's eyes and raised her eyebrows with a smirk.**

"**So, come on then," she told him, sliding his newly made cup of coffee across the counted towards him. "What have I missed?"**

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"**You didn't, did yo****u?" Allie asked, almost choking on her beer with laughter. She, Matt and Pete were sat up on the roof, making the most of what finally felt like the last day of summer. Snuggling deeper into Pete's hoodie, she was more than aware that compared to what it had been like in New York, London felt like the Bahamas; but not quite.**

"**No, I'm totally serious," Matt, answered, giggling to himself as he felt the buzz of the alcohol run through his veins. "I thought he was gonna kill me so I did the only thing I could think of…"**

"**You shouted 'cops' and tried to kick me in the balls," Pete burst out, with a laugh of his own as he noticed Allie wiping away the tears from her eyes; it felt good having her back, he didn't talk about it too much, especially to the boys, but he had missed her like hell.**

"**Maybe I should have tried that the first time we met," Allie said thoughtfully looking at Pete with a slight twinkle in her eyes that let him know she was joking.**

"**You could of, but from what I remember you were too busy flirting with me," he smirked at her sound of outrage.**

"**Actually I thought you were a complete thug," she told him earnestly, taking another sip of beer.**

"**Bollocks!" he laughed. **

"**Would I lie to you?" she winked at Matt who tried his best not to smile back.**

"**Then why did you give me your number?" Pete asked her smugly. **

**Standing up to use the bathroom, Allie placed her bottle of beer on the table and wiped her hands on her jeans with a smile; shrugging, she leant on his shoulders and pinched his cheek playfully.**

"**Because thug or not, I thought you were hot," she paused for a second. "Or maybe it was pity…I can never remember," she giggled and skipped towards the door that led back downstairs, disappearing before Pete could retaliate.**

**Shaking his head with a laugh, Pete flicked the empty bottle cap onto the cracked tabletop and sighed, glancing at Matt who was grinning at him.**

"**What?" he asked, with a jerk of his chin.**

"**Nothing," Matt smiled again as he brought his bottle of beer to his lips and took a long sip.**

**Leaning forward on his elbows, Pete raised an eyebrow at him and laughed.**

"**Fuck off! What were you thinking?"**

**Rolling the now empty bottle of beer between his palms, Matt tilted his head and sighed. What he was about to say next would either get him knocked out or laughed at. He prayed for the latter.**

"**You and Allie, you're pretty different," he ventured, gauging Pete's reaction before he said anymore. Sighing in relief when Pete laughed and shook his head, Matt knew that they grin on his friends face was genuine.**

"**Mate, the first time I told the boys that we were going out they thought that I was joking," sighing at the memory of Dave spitting out his drink and Bovver practically screaming 'You're having a bubble?' in the pub, Pete stood up and gestured for Matt to follow him inside. The daylight has long since faded and the cold was setting in again.**

"**Thing is with Allie, she's so different from any other girl, you know? She doesn't pull stunts or mess about to get attention," nudging her suitcase out of the way and perching on the arm of the sofa, he shrugged. "She's just…Allie." Pete smiled in a way that Matt had never seen before. "She's the only person in my life that can make everything, even the GSE go away." Shaking his head, Pete raised his eyebrows and grimaced. "Alright, enough with the corny shite, who else is fucking hungry?" he asked placing a hand on his stomach for emphasis.**

**Nodding in agreement, Matt laughed at the faint "I am!" that rang out from the bedroom; then turning to look at Allie, he felt his breath catch in his throat. Glancing at Pete, he noted the look on his friends face and felt instantly guilty; Pete was looking at Allie with a huge goofy smile on his face that she returned as she bent down to slip on her silver ballet pumps.**

"**What do you guys fancy?" she asked, picking up an expensive looking purse and reaching for her jacket thrown carelessly across one of the kitchen chairs.**

"**Chinese"**

"**Indian"**

"**Pizza"**

**All three answers came at once and there was a silence before Allie grabbed Pete's phone and pushed a copy of the Yellow pages towards Matt.**

"**Apparently we're ordering in, then." She told them with a smile. "Probably best anyway, I'm knackered and I feel like shit." Tossing her bag and coat back onto the chair and dialling the number she knew off by heart. Laughing, Matt raised an eyebrow at the girl in front of him.**

"**You know the take out phone number by heart?" he asked, shaking his head. "You look like so much more of a salad kind of girl."**

**Laughing, Allie playfully smacked him on the chest. "Well if you honestly think that about me, I'm about to go wa-ay down in your expectations."**

**Listening in awe as she ordered duck and plum sauce parcels, sticky rice, prawn crackers with dips and chicken noodles, he turned to Pete who merely shrugged and laughed, Matt shook his head in disbelief; the girl was tiny, she almost looked as though someone as large as Pete could wrap his hands around her entire waist. Yet there she was ordering enough food to feed a family of 5.**

"**Your go," she smiled, throwing the phone to Matt and walking around the counter to get her wallet. Pulling out her cash, she made a sound of surprise when Pete snatched it from her hand.**

"**What are you doing?" she asked, slightly annoyed that she didn't have a hope in hell of reaching the wallet that he was currently holding in the air and way out of her reach.**

"**What does it look like?" Pete asked her with a smile in his voice. They had this argument every single time they ordered out, but neither of them were quick learners. "You just got back from holiday and I haven't seen you in 2 months so let me take care of you…"**

**Smirking up at him, she reached for the wallet one more time and pressed her body up against his, causing his to take a sharp intake of breath.**

"**I take it we're still talking about the food, right?" she asked, a not so innocent twinkle in her eyes. Usually Pete would have responded by grabbing her and pulling her to the bed, kitchen table, sofa, wherever the nearest flat surface was, but remembering quickly that Matt was still here he swallowed visibly and shook his head.**

"**That's not going to work," he told her smirking down at her.**

"**Yeah, right," she snorted, giving up and rocking back on her heels, pushing a strand of hair out of her eyes. "That always works, but fine, whatever, go ahead."**

**Turning away from him she flopped down on the sofa and shut her eyes; she was tired, so tired that she was having a difficult time keeping her eyes open. The flight had been hell to say the least; first class meant nothing when you had Jacques from sales and rep sitting next to you bitching about how YSL was obviously ripping off Chanel's new spring line. Rolling her eyes, she looked up at Pete who was talking to Matt and smiled to herself; she had missed him. The first few weeks had been harder than she had thought they would be, and after a fortnight she found herself desperate to be back in London with Pete doing something stupid like playing pool, or listening to him complain when she made him sit through an episode of ER. It scared her how dependent she had become on him, but at the same time she knew in her heart that he was exactly the same.**

"**So what did you make of New York?" Matt asked her, leaning over the back of the sofa and smiling down at him with a row of perfectly white teeth. **_**Americans, **_**she thought, fighting the urge to giggle and roll her eyes.**

"**Amazing," she replied, sitting up and crossing her legs underneath her. "It messes with your head a little, but aside from that I'd definitely go out there again." Nudging Pete with her foot, she grinned at him. "Maybe you could come with me this time, all of the girls would love it, especially Lara."**

**Laughing at the look of discomfort on Pete's face she turned to Matt who looked more than a little confused and explained.**

"**All of the girls in the office have a little bit of a…fixation on Pete-y boy," giggling at the look he gave her, Allie leaned towards Matt and spoke in whispers. "My best mate Lara had such a crush on him, she got at my 23****rd**** birthday party and actually spent most of the night making a pros and cons list as to whether or not he should be with me or her." Laughing animatedly, Matt noticed that her green eyes seemed to flash.**

_**Stop it! **_**He ordered himself silently. He wasn't going to be the guy that got a crush on the girl his new found best mate was planning on marrying…it was all a little bit too Billy Joel.**

"**Seriously?" Matt asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise. Turning to Pete who nodded slowly and grinned at Allie.**

"**It almost worked as well."**

**Laughing as she threw a cushion at his head, Pete pretended to look hurt as she muttered 'bugger off' under her breath.**

**Looking between the two of them, Matt saw what most people probably did not; despite the fact that they were both completely different, they fit together perfectly. It seemed like one of those relationships that would be doomed from the start, but in all honesty, Matt could see these two going the distance. Even though they were only 24, the bond between them was so palpable, so undeniable that it seemed impossible to think of one without the other.**

"**What about you, huh?" Allie asked with a twinkle in her eye as she nudged Matt playfully. "You've got the big blue eyes, the glow in the dark teeth, plus the cute accent…I bet the ladies are all over you."**

**Laughing, Matt shook his head and looked to the floor for a moment; there had been loads of women who had started giving him looks, numbers and various other offers that didn't bear thinking about but none of them had been worth pursuing.**

"**Actually, I, ah, I haven't really met anyone yet…" he answered truthfully.**

"**Well, what's your type, maybe one of my mates…" she trailed off.**

"**Allie," Pete warned her.**

**Shrugging and raising her eyebrows she looked at her boyfriend innocently. "What?" she asked.**

**Shaking his head, Pete leaned back on the sofa so that he was close to Matt.**

"**Don't let her know anything, mate," he warned in a whisper. "She might give the impression that she's one of the lads but she's still one of **_**them **_**underneath."**

**Matt laughed and caught the grin on Allie's face as stared straight ahead at the TV screen, flicking through the channel's to see what was on.**

"**I heard that," she told them in a singsong voice, the smile evident in her tone.**

**Shaking his head, Pete mouthed '**_**Told you**_**' before widening his eyes in innocence when Allie turned to face them. Holding up his hands in surrender, she glared at him playfully.**

**The remainder of their night was spent munching their way through their huge orders of food and talking, occasionally falling into a comfortable silence until Pete glanced at the clock and yawned. Leaning back on his elbows he surveyed the damage around them; empty take out boxes stacked up on the table, the empty bottles of beer and wine on the floor. Shaking his head on the floor he decided that there would be plenty of time to clear it all up tomorrow.**

"**Well, I'm gonna hit the hay," he said, suppressing a yawn even as he spoke. "Unlike you two lazy shits, I've got a job to go to in the morning." He smiled as both Matt and Allie rolled their eyes. Climbing to his feet, he stretched his arms and absentmindedly kicked an empty noodle carton into the fireplace before taking Allie's extended hand and gently pulling her to her feet next to him.**

"**Are you alright out here?" she asked Matt with a frown on her face. "We kinda made a mess."**

**Laughing, Matt rubbed the back of his head and reached for his sleeping bag. "No, it's fine." He told her with a smile. "If I get hungry in the night at least I don't have to get up and walk to the fridge."**

**Smiling back at him, Allie rolled her eyes and muttered, "men" underneath her breath before leaning in and planting a quick kiss on his cheek.**

"**If you're sure?" she checked once more. Matt who was still in shock that she had kissed him, simply nodded and tried not to look as guilty as he felt at that moment. "Ok," she said, letting go of Pete's hand and moving to get a bottle of water out of his fridge. "I guess I'll see you in the morning then," she said with a little wave before disappearing into the bathroom with a towel.**

"**G'night!" Matt called back to her, watching the door shut and suddenly finding it a little difficult to breath when he thought about the fact she was going to be mere metres away, and showering. **_**Fuck! **_**He thought, giving himself a mental slap around the face. **_**Stop thinking that bollocks!**_

"**Alright mate," Pete's voice brought him out of his daydream. "I guess I won't see you until tomorrow afternoon." Clapping him on the shoulder, he winked. "Catch you later, mate."**

**Leaving Matt to make his bed, Pete walked into the bedroom and flopped down on the mattress, closing his eyes for a moment, and letting out a deep breath as he felt the tiredness sweep through his body.**

**After a few moments he heard the familiar creak of the bedroom door and opened his eyes to find Allie standing above him with a soft smile on her face.**

"**I thought you were asleep," she told him, her voice still only just above a whisper. Sitting up, Pete rested his head against her flat stomach for a moment, still not quite believing that she was finally back; the last two months seemed to stretch on forever.**

**He sighed at the feel of her hands on the back of his neck, her slender fingers rubbing at the tension in the tight muscles. Placing a soft kiss on her stomach through the fabric of her tank top, Pete stood up, looking down at her and sending a shiver through her as she watched his eyes darken. **

**Suddenly, his mouth was on hers, but it wasn't soft and gentle, it was hard and demanding, making Allie forget that anything other than him actually existed; like the American who was only about 15 ft away for example. Walking her backwards, Pete pushed her against the wall before moving in and covering her body with his, his hands drifting under her knees encouraging her to bend them, which she did and immediately wrapped them around his waist. **

"**You are never allowed to leave this fucking country without me again," Pete grunted, pushing his hips into hers and watching as she bit her lip hard to keep from crying out. "Understand?"**

"**Never again," she shook her head with a slight grin as she reached for the belt on his jeans. "Got it,"**

**Pete smiled at her and met her eyes, drinking in the sight of her before pushing one of the straps of her tank top down far enough so he could run his lips over her collarbone.**

"**God, I missed you," she sighed, running her hands down his back as his lips attacked her neck. **

**Pulling away from her for a moment, Pete swept a stray piece of hair off of her face and tucked it gently behind her ear; his answer was not an unfamiliar one, but it still caught her off guard.**

"**I love you." He whispered, his lips millimetres from hers, so close that he could **_**feel **_**her smile when he said it.**

"**I love you, too." She whispered back, raising her head to capture his lips once again, after a moment she let her hands drift down to the hemline of his shirt, and tugged it up over his head, throwing it to the floor before doing the same with her own. **

**Pete's mouth started moving lower on her body, exploring every inch of her chest as his hands fumbled blindly on the buttons of her jeans, snapping them slowly before reaching for the zipper. Grinning at the hint of black lace he could see peeking out from just above the waistline of her jeans, Pete ran one hand up her back, fingers tickling the length of her spine as he deftly located the clasp of her bra. **

"**Wait," Allie panted, pulling him back up so that he was face level with her. Big mistake. His usually bright blue eyes looked almost black and she shivered at the lust in them, his gaze probing hers as he panted, trying to get his breath back. What was it that she had she been going to say?**

"**What?" he asked loudly, frowning when her hand shot out and she placed a finger against his lips. **

"**What about Matt?" she asked, her own voice just above a whisper as she glanced warily at the bedroom door leading down the hall to the living room where the American was sleeping.**

"**What if he…you know…" she looked away and blushed slightly. "What if he hears us?"**

**Pete looked at her seriously for a moment before breaking down into laughter. Looking at him in shock for a moment, Allie soon found herself laughing along with him.**

"**Shhhh!" she told him, hitting his shoulder, but still giggling to herself.**

"**Alright," he told her, trying to make himself put on a serious face as he met her gaze. "I'm sorry." He let out another snort of laughter and buried his face in the crook of her neck, closing his eyes and taking a minute to breathe her in. Kissing his way up her throat, finally reaching her mouth, he smiled against her lips when she moaned softly and wrapped her arms tighter around his neck.**

"**Do you wanna stop?" he asked in between kisses.**

"**Mm-mm," she answered, not moving away from him. "We can be quiet, right?" she asked, grinning up at him as he obviously struggled for control.**

**He returned her smile, and lowered his lips back to hers, whispering 'I love you' once more before both of them were lost.**

"**That wasn't exactly quiet," Allie giggled as Pete collapsed on top of her a good few hours later, burying his head in the curve of her shoulder and placing wet, open mouthed kisses over her damp skin. **

**Nuzzling deeper into him, she sighed contentedly as his arms tightened around her, gently scraping his teeth against the still sensitive marks on her neck. **

"**Yeah, well, something tells me Matt will understand," He told her, running a hand through her soft hair and shifting so that he was lying next her, resting his head on his elbow. Looking down at her, he couldn't prevent the stupid grin he felt stretching across his face. Her hair was all mused up, her lips swollen and there was a slight mark on her neck, and he couldn't help the male pride that rose in him with the knowledge that he was responsible for it all.**

**Reaching up, Allie ran a hand down his face and smiled; it was this side of Pete, the side that not everyone could see all of the time that she had fallen in love with. Smiling as her engagement ring glinted slightly in the soft lighting of the room, she new he must have spotted it too, because he brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her palm, then the finger itself. **

"**Bov must hate him," she murmured, snuggling deeper into the pillow with a sigh. Linking his fingers through hers, Pete laughed quietly and shook his head.**

"**What makes you say that?"**

"**Are you joking?" Allie asked, pushing herself up onto her elbows and blowing a piece of hair out of her face. "Remember how harsh Bov was with me when I first started to get to know you lot, and I'm a girl for fuck sake, so I dread to think what he's like with Matt."**

**Pursing his lips for a moment, Pete recalled how mistrusting Bovver had been of Allie when he had first met her and had to agree with her; Bovver always told him that he trusted people too much, and for a long time, Allie had fallen into that category, but eventually Bov seemed to have realised that she was not going to jeopardise the firm, better than that, she didn't **_**care**_** about the firm. Unfortunately, it had taken Allie getting attacked by the members of another firm for that message to sink in. Shuddering at the memory of finding her in the ally way two years ago, Pete focused instead on the feel of her skin underneath his fingers. **

**Matt was another story. Bovver seemed to have a real vendetta against him, and Pete was yet to decide whether it was to do with the fact that Matt was an American, and an outsider, or was it to do with the fact that he was so close to Pete?**

"**Matt's alright," he assured her, playfully tugging on a strand of her hair. "He can handle himself."**

"**What about you?" she asked, her eyes narrowing as though she was trying to see through him.**

"**What about me?" he asked her, slightly confused.**

"**Are you ok?" she asked, her thumb brushing over his knuckles. "I mean everything is good?"**

**Her tone sounded scared and Pete knew the look in her eyes all too well; since they had gotten together, his extra curricular activities had been a huge source of worry for her and although she did her best to breeze over it casually, Pete knew how much she worried about him.**

"**I'm fine," he told her firmly, meeting her eyes. "I'm even better now you're home." He smiled as she rolled her eyes.**

"**So are you going to tell me how New York was?" he asked, settling down next to her trailing a line of hot kisses down from her chest to her stomach. **

"**Mmm…where should I start?" she pondered, drumming her fingers on his back, moaning quietly when he swirled his tongue inside her bellybutton. "I told you on the phone about the affair I had with Justin Timberlake, didn't I?"**

**Smirking, Pete nodded and looked up at her seriously.**

"**Yeah, along with the class A drugs and the mafia connections."**

**He rolled his eyes as she giggled and rolled on top of him, a huge grin on her face.**

"**Smart arse."**

"**Snob."**

"**Thug."**

"**Whatever," he smiled, rolling his eyes as she laughed and punched him in the shoulder. "Ha! I won!" She announced, grinning down at him in triumph.**

**They stayed like that for a moment, just looking at each other, neither of them speaking for fear of ruining the moment. In the two years that they had been together, Allie and Pete had managed to form a bond that most people their age could only hope for, but neither of them paid too much attention to 'branding' their relationship. That was until he proposed all of a few hours before she had to get on a plane anyway. But he had to…because whenever he pictured his future, she was always in it. He had no future without her.**

**They watched where their hands were intertwined for a few moments, Pete resting his cheek against the top of her head.**

"**You know why Bovver was such a wanker to you, don't you?" a smile in his voice as he absentmindedly drew patterns on her naked back with his free hand.**

"**Because I get to wear dresses and he doesn't?" She inquired, causing Pete to roar with laughter.**

"**No," he answered, still laughing slightly. "He had a thing for you."**

**Shaking her head, Allie snorted. "You're hilarious,"**

"**Nah, I'm completely serious," Pete told her again. "I think all the boys had a thing for you to begin with…especially Swill."**

"**Well, let's just thank Christ that that passed, shall we?" she giggled, glancing up at him with sleepy eyes. "Besides, none of them had a shot with you around."**

**Grinning, Pete stretched his arms above his head in a yawn before wrapping them back around her, enjoying the feel of her skin under his fingers.**

**Resting her head against his chest, Allie smiled when she felt his heart beating and placed a gentle kiss over it.**

"**I love you," she mumbled sleepily, her eyes drifting shut as Pete held her tighter.**

"**Love you, too." He whispered, his own eyes drifting shut as they both fell into a peaceful sleep for the first time in two months.**


	20. Chapter 20

"**Fuck!" Pete shouted as he jumped out of bed, almost pulling Allie with him. "Sorry baby," he told her, quickly kissing her forehead as she stared at him still half asleep with a confused expression on her face.**

"**What time is it?" she mumbled, pulling the covers up over her chest and shoulders to keep out the coldness of the morning.**

"**It's just gone 8," Pete told her, picking a tie up off of the floor and pulling it over his head, shaking his head when he caught the amused look Allie gave him in the reflection of the mirror.**

"**I know, I know," he told her, reaching for his locked keys. "It doesn't match, but they're 10…they couldn't give a shit." He caught the smile on her face before she flopped back down onto the bed and stretched her arms out, enjoying the luxury of a king size bed once again.**

**Unable to stop himself, Pete jumped back onto the bed, resting on top of her with his arms either side of her head and smiled down at her.**

"**Morning," he smiled, leaning down and kissing her gently on the lips.**

"**Morning," she mumbled in return, a smile in her voice as she returned the kiss not so gently, her hands moving lower into still his unfastened trousers. **

**Growling and pushing his body hard onto hers, Pete shot back from her and bounded towards the door.**

"**You do that any longer, and I haven't got a hope in hell of getting out this door before midday," he told her with a laugh which she returned.**

"**Are you staying here for a while?" he asked, pulling on his coat.**

"**Yeah, if that's ok?" she asked, reaching down to the floor and pulling on Pete's t-shirt that lay discarded from the night before.**

"'**Course," he replied, making his way over to the bed and meeting her on the end where she knelt before him. "Stay here all week if you want,"**

**They hadn't yet discussed living arrangements but given she'd been more or less living with him for the past few months Pete figured that she'd move in here. Plus as amazing as her house was, he didn't want to be the bloke that mooched off of his girlfriend for the rest of his life. Allie and her family had more money than he would ever know what do to with.**

"**You'll get sick of me," she snorted, tugging on his tie and straightening it.**

"**Not a chance," Pete replied seriously, kissing her hotly and pushing one hand up under the shirt she was wearing, groaning loudly at the feel of her naked skin beneath his fingers. **

"**Oh, fuck, Pete," Allie whispered, biting her lip as she pulled him closer. "You have to go."**

"**Fuck it," Pete hissed as her hands dipped under his shirt and she dragged her fingernails over his skin. "I'm calling in sick."**

"**No you're not," she told him, not breaking their kiss. "I'll be here when you get back." She promised. **

"**That's about 7 fucking hours away from now," he protested, his hand caressing her stomach. "It's too long."**

"**Go!" Allie laughed, pushing him away before either of them completely lost control and ended up having a repeat session of last night. She wouldn't say no, but he had work and from the look in his eyes she could tell that whatever he had planned was going to take more than half an hour. **

"**Alright," Pete nodded, straightening his clothes and trying not to notice the flush in her face or the fast rise and fall of her chest as she tried to get her breathing under control. **

"**I'll see you later, ok?" he headed towards the door and allowed himself one last look at her, sat on his bed in only one of this shirts and alone. Fuck. **

"**Ok," she waved at him as he winked and ran through the flat out the front door.**

**Sighing when she heard the front door shut, Allie flopped back down into the covers for a moment; she had been looking forward to a nice relaxing breakfast in bed, a long lie in, maybe even a bath…but instead here she was at 8 in the morning, hungry, more than a little, um, wired…not to mention wide-awake and alone.**

**Swinging her feet off of the mattress, she groaned at the sight of her unpacked suitcase staring at her mockingly from the floor. She had another week before she had to be back at work, and so made the decision to make the most of her time off by doing as little as possible.**

**She could even spend some time getting to know Matt; he seemed like a really nice guy, and it was someone to keep her company in the flat when Pete was out, at least. **

**Turning her attention back to the clock, she swore under her breath as the numbers changed to 08:21; there was no way she was getting back to sleep now. Opening the bedroom door, she tiptoed down the hallway and into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her and turning her attention to the large white tub in front of her.**

**Glancing in the mirror as she let the bath run, steam already clouding the glass, she ran a hand through her hair and caught the small mark Pete had left just below her collarbone. Running her fingers across it, she smiled and reached for the hem of his shirt, pulling it over her head, before grabbing her favourite book and climbing into the tub.**

**Sinking back into the mountain of bubbles, she sighed as she felt any tension left in her body from the jet lag dissolving into the hot water, and submerged herself completely. It was good to be home.**

……………………………………

**Blinking at the strong morning sun that was pouring through the blinds and straight onto his face, Matt blindly felt around for his watch and looked at the time.**

**Just gone 11; he sighed, shielding his eyes with his hand and sat up, swinging his legs off the side of the sofa and sniffed at the air, catching the familiar scent of French toast and coffee. Stumbling down the hallway to the kitchen, he heard the faint noise of the radio and smiled. **_**Just like home, **_**he thought sadly.**

**He had never really mentioned it to Pete or any of the boys, not even Shannon really, but he missed the states sometimes; mostly his Mum, but she wasn't ever coming back, whether he was at home or not.**

**Feeling the familiar lump in his throat, Matt pushed open the door and saw Allie standing over the stove in her pyjamas, tapping her bare feet in time with the music as she flipped over another piece of toast.**

**Sensing someone else in the kitchen, she looked up and greeted Matt with a huge smile that made his stomach flip flop a little.**

"**Morning sunshine," she said, turning off the heater and placing the slice of toast on a plate next to a tall glass of orange juice. Hopping up onto one of the kitchen stools, she nudged the chair next to her with her foot and took a long sip of juice.**

**Smiling his thanks as she passed him a mug of steaming hot coffee, Matt glanced at the huge pile of food she had laid out on the breakfast bar.**

"**Hungry?" he asked with a smile in his voice.**

**Turning to face him, Allie laughed and threw her hands up in the air.**

"**I know, alright?" she laughed. "I got woken up at 8 o'clock this morning by he who shall remain nameless and couldn't get back to sleep, so I thought I'd make breakfast." They both glanced at the buffet. "I just didn't realise I'd end up cooking everything in the entire kitchen."**

**They looked at each other in silence for a moment before they both dissolved into laughter. After a few moments, Matt calmed down enough to speak.**

"**So aside from feeding the country," he ignored the look she gave him. "What do you have planned for today?" he asked pouring syrup onto a piece of French toast and then taking a huge bite.**

"**Honestly, don't have a clue," she told him, brushing some crumbs off of her pyjama bottoms and reaching for her orange juice. "I was actually gonna see if you wanted to hang out today?"**

**Leaning across the table to get his fourth piece of toast, Matt ignored the way his heartbeat accelerated just that little bit at the thought of spending a day with her. Alone.**

"**Yeah, sounds great," he told her. "What did you have in mind?"**

"**Well," she smiled drawing out the word. "I could show you around London if you want…I'm guessing the most you've seen of it so far is the Abbey and maybe a few football stadiums?"**

**Rolling her eyes as Matt nodded, Allie hopped down off of her stool.**

"**Thought so," she told him, glancing at the clock on the DVD player. "Look, how about we both go put some clothes on and make ourselves look pretty and then we'll just go piss about in London all day, do whatever we want?" she trailed off at the end and raised an eyebrow. Fighting the urge to gulp, Matt smiled instead and slowly nodded.**

"**Sounds great, I'll be ready in as soon as, ok?"**

"**Sure," she nodded, smiling at him as she loaded their dirty plates into the dishwasher. "Take your time, we've got the whole day remember?"**

**Smiling, Matt headed out of the kitchen and into the living room, now known as his bedroom and grabbed some clean clothes out of his duffel bag before heading to the bathroom.**

**Brushing his teeth, he splashed cold water on his face and glanced at his reflection in the mirror, unable to help the smile that spread across his face. He had a feeling that today was going to be fun.**

…………………………………

"**It wasn't a fair contest, you bugger, and I saw you cheat!" Allie yelled playfully at Matt as they exited the Trocadero funfair, Matt clutching his trophy with pride. Today had been better than he could have imagined; they had gone to Regent Street shopping, got a boat out on the lake at Hyde Park, and spent hours in the funfair, Allie had even shown his where she worked. The only problem was he was starting to worry that his 'harmless' crush on her was fast developing into something else. He felt like shit; no, lower that shit, because here he was with his best mates fiancé who was trying to be nice to him and make him feel welcome and all he could think about was how she would react if he were to reach over and kiss her right now…**

"**You might have the trophy, but I get the moral victory," she joked. **

**Turning to face her as they flopped down onto a nearby bench, Matt smiled and cleared his throat, not quite looking in the eye.**

"**Hey, Allie I, uh, I just wanted to say thanks for you know," he shrugged embarrassed, wondering why he suddenly felt like he was 15 all over again. "Showing me around and stuff,"**

"**Hey, it's cool," she told him, nudging him playfully with her shoulder. "I've had fun, too."**

**They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments before Matt cleared his throat ad turned so that he was facing her more fully. Wincing, he realised that this little crush he had was never going to go away if she looked like this all the time; her honey coloured hair blowing gently around her face, a barely detectable smile playing on her soft, full looking mouth…fighting the urge to groan, Matt knew then and there that he was screwed.**

"**Can I ask you something?" He glanced at her nervously. **

"'**Course," Allie smiled back. **

"**So are you ok with it all?" he asked her, trying to get his mind elsewhere. **

"**Ok with what?" she asked. **

"**Pete, and the um, the GSE," he noted the faint darkness in her eyes at the mention of those words, but she covered it quickly with a blasé smile. **

"**Pete's a big boy," she told him, giggling when she caught the look on Matt's face. And Bovver was saying that yanks don't have a sense of humour…**

"**I mean, he can take care of himself," she explained. "I don't want to be that girl, you know? The one who starts dishing out ultimatums and bitching 24/7."**

"**But doesn't it worry you?" Matt pressed, not entirely sure where he was going with this himself. "I mean what about when you two…" he gestured to her engagement ring and Allie sighed. **

"**Of course it worries me," she shook her head. "I've actually lost count of the number of times that I've had to clean him up after a fight, but I don't know," she shrugged. "Steve gave it up when he married your sister," she reasoned. "But its Pete's life and I know how much it means to him. I promised him that I would never make him choose, and I won't. When you love someone this much, you don't want them to change anything about themselves…not even the bad stuff."**

"**Wow," Matt looked at her with a smile on his face. **

"**What?" she frowned, wondering why he was looking at her like that.**

"**Nothing it's just, I mean there aren't many girls who would…" Matt shrugged. "Pete's a very lucky guy, that's all,"**

"**Thanks," Allie grinned at him, gently squeezing his arm. "Actually, I was going to go meet him for lunch if you wanted to come?"**

"**Shit, Allie, I'm sorry," he told her, rummaging around in his pocket for his train ticket. "I promised Shannon I'd see her and Ben today, you don't mind do you?" he asked, frowning when he discovered that he couldn't find his ticket anywhere.**

"**Of course," she said standing up next to him; she smiled and reached into his jacket pocket, making him jump with surprise and then smile when she pulled out his ticket. "Christ, you men are completely useless, aren't you?" she asked with a laugh as she linked her arm through his and headed in the direction of the station.**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: In my horrendously hung-over state, I'm currently unable to leave my bed and face the outside world so thought I'd post this to cheer myself up!****Happy New Year to all you guys, hope you all had an amazing night and unlike me (and freakishly 'Allie') knew better than to engage in any shot contests :)**** …enjoy! **

"**I think Matt's meeting us here," Pete told Allie, placing a kiss on her shoulder as they made their way towards the Abby. After what had happened to her a few years back, Pete wasn't keen on bringing her here that often, but he knew he'd never hear the end of it from the boys if he didn't bring her in. **

"**He's just dropping some stuff off at Shannon's," he nodded to one of the blokes who was stood outside having a cigarette. Seeing the look Allie was giving him, he grinned at her. "Turns out you were right, we weren't exactly quiet last night,"**

"**Oh, shit!" Allie laughed. "That's so embarrassing, I can't believe the poor bastard had to listen to us…" she shook her head. How had he managed to look her in the eye all day today?**

"**Oh, we are such bitches," Allie sighed.**

"**What?" he laughed. **

"**We just forced some poor foreign guy…"**

"**Allie, he's fucking American not Arabic," Pete laughed. **

"**Doesn't matter," Allie shook her head. "Point is, we've forced him out of the only home he's got because we can't control ourselves," she pointed at him. "Personally, I blame you."**

"**Oi," he frowned. "I had to put up with him that night a few weeks back when he brought that fucking diseased looking thing back to the flat,"**

"**Pete!" Allie shoved him, ignoring his laughter. **

"**What?" he raised his eyebrows. "It was fucking awful; she looked like she should come with her own travelling circus,"**

**Laughing and throwing him a look over her shoulder, Allie stepped into the pub and smiled; relieved to see that absolutely nothing had changed.**

"**Fucking hell!" Allie didn't stand a chance as Terry pounced on her, wrapping her up in a huge bear hug. He pulled away after a second and grinned at her. "So, the Sloane Ranger has returned," he winked. "Come on, we're getting you a drink, now."**

**He pulled her over to the bar and shrugged. "Anything you want, on the house,"**

"**My God," she gasped. "Anything?" she winked at him and he grinned.**

"**I knew I loved you for a reason," he laughed.**

"**Large red," she smiled. "Pretty please,"**

"**Good to hear you haven't gone all septic tank on us," Terry joked pouring her wine for her and handing it over before pulling a pint for Pete and shaking his head when he went to get his wallet. "And these are on me, think of it as a congrats." He gestured to her engagement ring. "You pissed off out the country before any of us could even give you a hug,"**

"**I know," Allie laughed. "I'm crap, but I'm here now."**

"**Yeah, lets keep it that way, shall we?" Terry grinned. "I've had to look at this lot every day while they fucking moped about like a bunch of puppies waiting for you to come back." He tapped her chin playfully. "And even I missed you a little,"**

"**Thanks," Allie smiled at him, giving him the usual kiss on the cheek. "You'll come over and see me at some point, right?" she asked raising an eyebrow.**

"**Try and stop me, hun," he promised her with a wink.**

**Smiling Allie turned the corner and grinned at the sound of the familiar voices.**

"**I'm telling you that last fucking round was mine and you know it, you tart!" Dave yelled at Ike and Keith who were counting their winnings.**

"**How the fuck did I get stuck with you?" Swill huffed, smacking Dave around the back of his head.**

"**It's your fault," Dave shot back. "That last shot was a fucking give away and you ballsed it up royally,"**

"**Serves you right for replacing me so bloody quickly." Allie grinned as they all turned to face her. "Jeez, you leave for a few weeks and it's like you never existed." She joked.**

**Before she had a chance to say anything else, they all jumped on her at once, Swill even picking her up and spinning her around.**

"**When the hell did you get back?" Ike laughed, throwing an arm around her shoulders.**

"**Yesterday," she winced at their rather colourful reactions. "I know, I know, I'm shit for not seeing you sooner but I had so much to do and…"**

"**Yeah, I'll bet," Bovver rolled his eyes at Pete. **

"**Oh fuck it," Dave told her kissing her cheek. "All that matters is that you're here now."**

"**And you're not planning on pissing off anywhere again soon, are you?" Ike asked cautiously.**

"**No," she smiled warmly at them. "I'm back for good unfortunately for you lot."**

"**I wouldn't say that," Keith laughed.**

"**I fucking would," Swill pointed at her. "Remember…Beware of the Sloane Ranger, she takes all our money!"**

"**I've got my team mate back!" Dave shouted, raising his pint. "Thank fucking God for that, one more set down the drain and I was going to be forfeiting my next pay check," he winked at Allie and picked up her left hand. "Speaking of…I hear congrats are in order,"**

"**How could you break my heart like that?" Swill shook his head and pretended to wipe away a tear. "I've got no fucking chance now if you're marrying Dunham, have I?"**

"**I wouldn't say that," Giggling, Allie glanced at Pete over her shoulder and shot him a smile that he returned.**

"**Do you have any idea how fucking nervous he was about doing it?" Dave told her, throwing an arm around her shoulders. Laughing, Allie held onto his hand. Although she loved all the boys, Dave had always been her favourite; she couldn't really explain it, but there was something about him, a big brother type charm which always made her feel safe. **

"**Did he tell you I messed everything up?" she winced slightly as Dave began laughing so hard that he snorted a few times. **

"**Aw, mate that was fucking genius," he told her. "I wouldn't expect any less from you, though."**

"**Come on then," Ike shouted. "Get the drinks in; we're only one American short of our ultimate tag team,"**

"**There's the little bastard!" Keith pointed over the bar as he wracked up the next set of balls for their game.** **"Matt, get over here you twat!"**

**Waving to some of the regulars whom he had gotten to know over the past few days, Matt tried to ignore the feeling he got in the pit of his stomach when he saw Allie was there. Nothing would ever happen, he would never do that to Pete, but he was scared that he was going to get too obvious. Taking a deep breath, he moved to stand next to Ike, ignoring the way Bovver immediately walked away from the table when he appeared. **

**Allie reached over and squeezed his arm gently, mouthing 'ignore him' and jerking her chin towards where Bovver was stood texting on his phone, his youthful face marred by the presence of his all to familiar scowl. **

"**So 'ave you two pulled your fingers out and thought about this wedding yet?" Swill grinned at them over the top of his pint. "Because I was thinking you should have a free bar,"**

"**We'll keep it mind," Allie shook her head, playfully blowing Dave a kiss when he handed her a glass of wine. Suddenly her phone started ringing and she cursed the day Lara was born as Madonna's 'Like A Virgin' began blasting out of her phone. However she'd done it, she managed to lock the ring tone and it had been stuck on this for the past three months. Glancing up at Swill who was dancing around his pool queue, she rolled her eyes. At least it made someone happy. **

"**Hello?" **

"**So, my baby sister is getting married and I have to hear about it from Loudmouth Lara?" **

**Grinning, Allie looked up at Pete who was staring at her with slight confusion on his face. **

"**Well, if my big brother was actually in the country for more than four days a year, he would have known sooner," she shot back, causing Pete to nod his head and laugh. It had to be Harry. Of her two brothers, Allie had always been closer to Harry, possibly because while Richard was the more mature one, Harry was the one who thought nothing of doing the odd bungee jump or throwing himself out of a plane. Allie remembered how their Dad would often joke that Richard must be adopted because compared to the rest of them, he took himself far too seriously. Harry and Pete had always gotten on well, finding common ground on the one thing that both loved more than anything else in the world: Allie. Harry was the archetypal over protective big brother and so after giving Pete every threat and third degree under the sun, he had long since developed his own relationship with him, even tagging along to a football match once or twice with Pete and the boys. **

"**Touché," Harry laughed down the phone. "But if it'll make you happy, I'm coming home tomorrow,"**

"**Really?" Allie squealed. **

"**Yeah!" Harry squealed back in the same high pitched manner, laughing when she muttered 'piss off' under her breath. "But listen, I have a fifteen hour flight ahead of me, so I can't stay long, but tell Pete I owe him a beer and that he's a miserable bastard for telling Dad and not me."**

"**What?" Allie frowned. **

"**He didn't tell you?" Harry yawned. "He rang Dad in Australia at five in the morning and asked for his permission to marry you. Dad found it fucking hilarious!"**

"**When was this?" Allie looked over at Pete who was chatting animatedly to Bovver and Terry. **

"**Dad said it was about six months ago," **

**Allie's heart stopped. Six months? He'd been planning this for six months? Oh, shit, now she felt really bad for screwing it up the way she had done. **

"**Allie?"**

"**What? Yeah, sorry, I'm still here," she shook her head, as though trying to physically free herself from her reverie. **

"**So my flight gets in at midday tomorrow which means I should be home at about 2," he rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I'll treat you to dinner if you want," **

"**Sounds great," she smiled. "Take care, ok?"**

"**Yeah, you too," he paused. "Hey, Allie-Cat?"**

**She smiled at the nickname he had given her when they were little; only Harry and her Dad were allowed to use it, Richard in all his official glory still insisted on calling her Alyssa most of the time. **

"**Yeah?"**

"**Congratulations," he smiled. "I can't think of a single person who deserves to be happy more than you,"**

**Embarrassingly enough, Allie felt her eyes start to sting; that was the thing about big brothers…when they spent most of their natural life ripping the piss out of you, comments like that could reduce you to a puddle of goo. **

"**Thank you," she sniffed, laughing. **

"**Oh fuck, don't start that," he laughed. "Tell me Pete's there so I don't have to feel too guilty?"**

"**Yeah, he's here," she smiled. "I'll be fine."**

"**I know you will," Harry told her. "So listen, I'll see you both tomorrow, ok?"**

"**Ok," she nodded. **

"**Love you, sis," **

"**Love you, too."**

**Hanging up the phone, Allie stared at it for a long moment; the reality of her situation kicking in for the first time in months. She was getting married. As in, she was going to be someone's wife. Her face fell…oh, shit. She was now officially an adult. **

"**Oi," Pete stepped in front of her and placed a hand on her hip. "You alright?"**

"**You never told me you asked my Dad for permission to marry me," she laughed at the look on his face. "Do you have any idea how cute that is?"**

"**Do you have any idea how badly him and your brothers would have beaten the absolute shit out of me if I hadn't?" he joked. **

"**Fair point," she tilted her head and then looked down at her ring. "Harry's back tomorrow, he wants to go out for some drinks or something."**

"**Fine by me," Pete grinned, remembering how the last time they had gone out, Harry had gotten pissed as a skunk and ended up paying for everything. **

"**We're actually getting married, aren't we?" she shook her head in amazement. **

"**That's the plan," Pete nodded, laughing at her. "Why? You changed your mind"?**

"**No!" she slapped his shoulder. "Idiot…I just." She laughed and gestured to the both of them. "We're getting married."**

"**How much wine have you had?" Pete frowned at her. **

"**I'm not drunk," she shook her head, laying her hands on his chest. "I'm just…I'm happy."**

**Leaning down Pete kissed her slowly, teasing her by letting his tongue gently touch her lips, but then pulling back, laughing against her mouth when she punched his side, finally giving in and deepening the kiss. **

"**Yeah, well you know what would make me happy?" Swill shouted and forcing them to pull apart. "Would be if we can get this game started. Pete you're with Ike,"**

"**Oh, you're fucking joking," Pete shook his head at his mate who looked up at him with a huge grin on his face. "Why can't I play with Allie?"**

"**Save it for the honeymoon, Dunham," Bovver quipped, slapping his shoulder and ignoring the slight look of disgust that Allie sent him. "Besides, little Miss Sloane Square is long over due an arse whipping,"**

"**You reckon?" Allie arched an eyebrow at the two men. "Bring it on. Hey Matt," she called. "Do you wanna get in on this?"**

"**No, its ok," he nodded for them to carry on. "I just ordered a drink so…"**

**Smiling at him, Allie felt bad; she knew how hard he was trying to fit in with the boys, but it was amazing what one persons opinion could do. Glancing at Bovver she recalled how much it used to bother her when he would ignore her all the times she would come to the Abby when her and Pete first started seeing each other. Matt seemed like such a nice guy, she honestly couldn't see why Bovver would have a problem with him.**

"**Tell you what," Dave leant his head on Allie's shoulder. "We'll make it fair, you team up with Dunham and I'll head over to team retard," he pointed to Bovver and Ike who instantly flipped him the finger. **

"**You're leaving me?" Allie looked at him in horror. "I go away for two months and come back to find you with a new pool partner and I guess I thought that once I was back we could…we could go back to the way we were,"**

"**You walked out on me," Dave pleaded with her, playing along. "And all those games I played when you were gone were horrible, I was thinking of you the whole time, I swear."**

**Laughing loudly, Allie shoved him over to the other side of the table and shook her head as he mouthed 'I love you'. Smiling, she felt Pete's arm come to rest around her middle and he handed her a queue. **

"**Ready to tag team these bitches?" he asked her. **

"**Oh definitely," she winked and turned her head slightly so that she could look at him fully. "We lose and the engagement's off."**

"**Fair enough," Pete nodded with a laugh as he saw what could only be described as raw determination pass over her delicate features. **

"**Loser gets in the next round," Ike called as Allie bent down to take her shot. **

"**Ok," she grinned, then laughed as she potted the red and all of the boys groaned. "Sounds good to me,"**

………………………

"**I lost," Allie sobbed, following Matt out of the pub. Turning to face Ike who was smugly counting his winnings, she shook her head numbly. "I lost to **_**you!"**_

"**That's right, baby," Ike laughed holding up the money and doing a little victory dance. "First time in three years, I ever won a game." He wiped away an imaginary tear. "It's such a beautiful moment,"**

"**Dunham, you are officially off my team," Allie pointed at him and glared.**

"**Me?" he laughed. "You missed the shot,**

"**_Because _of you," she stated. "You didn't line up the balls properly,"**

"**Yeah Dunham," Dave laughed. "You need to have more control of your balls,"**

**Allie giggled and then caught Pete's look, and clapped her hand over her mouth.**

"**Oh, so you think that's funny do you?" he asked her raising an eyebrow.**

"**Me?" she squeaked. "No." she gasped putting her hand on her heart. "Baby, I would never laugh at you." she shook her head and tried to look innocent. "Or your balls." She grinned at him and the rest of the boys starting cracking up.**

"**Alright, that's it," Pete said with a laugh of his own as he ran towards her and without warning, grabbed her around the waist and threw her over his shoulder.**

"**Oh my God, Pete put me down!" she cried, at the same time laughing hysterically.**

"**So what are your plans sunshine?" Matt jumped as Dave appeared next to him, slinging his arm around his shoulders. **

"**My plans?" he repeated, trying to get his beer fogged brain working again. **

"**Yeah, I mean now you're in Jolly Old, you must 'ave something you wanna do?" Dave hiccupped and narrowly missed tripping over the curb. **

"**Not really," Matt laughed. "Just, uh, I don't know just wait and see what happens I guess," Noticing the other lads were clambering into a taxi, Matt stopped and bit his lip. "Um, should we not wait for Pete and Allie?"**

"**Nah mate," Dave laughed. "I think they're a bit busy at the moment," **

**Glancing further up the road, Matt could just about make out the two figures stood so close together that in the late autumn fog, they almost appeared to be one being. Trying his best to repress the jealousy that roared up in his chest, Matt turned back to Dave who was looking at him strangely; almost suspiciously.**

"**Well, if you're sure they'll be ok," Matt smiled. **

"**Yeah," Dave met his eyes and held the other mans gaze, daring him to look away. "They'll be fine."**

**Watching Matt climb into the back of the cab, Dave couldn't help but think there was something about the boy he didn't quite trust. Not when it came to Allie at least; he'd spotted the way Matt would look at Allie when she wasn't watching and it wasn't just a friendly glance either. Personally, Dave just hoped that the yank wasn't stupid enough to do something, because when it came to Allie, there was nothing Pete wouldn't do. **

**And he just hoped that Matt had enough sense not to push that too far. **


	22. Chapter 22

"**Jeremy Van Holden?" Pete winced, taking another sip of his beer. Given the non smoking rules of the building, Pete and Allie had decided to keep Matt company up on the roof, but given the temperature, both of them were silently regretting it. "Sounds like a cunt,"**

**Allie rolled her eyes and laughed; she had to give it to her boyfriend: he had a way with words. Shifting her feet which were propped up on Pete's chair, she smiled when he put his hand over them, holding them closer and letting one hand drift under the material of her jeans to gently stroke her leg. **

"**Mate, if he'd done that to me, I'd smash seven shades of shit out of him," he shook his head as Matt laughed. **

"**You're so poetic," Allie told him, narrowing her eyes to let him know she was only teasing. **

"**I try," Pete smirked back at her, laughing when she kicked him playfully. **

"**So Harvard, huh?" she raised her eyebrows at Matt. "That's amazing."**

"**What that I got kicked out or let in in the first place?" Matt joked. **

"**That you let him get away with it," Allie shook her head. "Isn't there anyone you could have told?"**

"**No one who'd believe me," Matt shrugged. "It's probably for the best, you know. I mean, if it hadn't happened, I wouldn't be here."**

"**So what were you studying?" Pete asked, leaning forward in his chair. "Before this geezer stitched you up?"**

**Matt looked at him for a moment, taking an extra long drag on his cigarette to give himself another few seconds to think. He knew that Shannon hadn't told anyone that he had been studying journalism, but he wasn't sure he wanted to start lying to his friends either. But then again, he knew the reputation journalists had amongst Pete and the others…**

"**History," he blurted out without really thinking. He knew a little about it if they happened to ask him, it had been one of his majors in high school. **

"**History?" Pete repeated, a huge grin forming on his face. "I teach history."**

"_**You teach?" **_**Matt exclaimed, watching as Allie threw her head back and laughed. **

"**Yes," Pete shook his head. "Cheeky slag…History and P.E.," **

**Glancing at Allie who was still giggling to herself, he knew that she had had the same reaction when she had first found out what it was that he did for a living; but he never found it offensive. How could he with the life he chose to lead? Of course people were going to assume the worst about him, but to be honest that kind of made it that little bit better when people finally found out that he wasn't just some stay at home loser on benefits. **

"**Why? Do you think the GSE pays a bloody wage or something?" He picked up his beer can and pointed to his head. "Mate, I'm smart as fuck,"**

**Stubbing out his cigarette, Matt laughed and looked at Allie who was smiling at Pete with more than a little pride in her eyes; but still obviously intent on mocking him somewhat. **

"**He's modest too," she quipped. "I am a lucky, lucky girl."**

"**Alright smart arse," he pulled her to her feet and slung his arm around her shoulders. "Let's go back inside, its brass monkeys out here."**

"**Is that rhyming slang?" Matt asked with a frown. **

"**It's bollocks is what it is," Allie shook her head as they walked down the narrow set of stairs that led to Pete's flat. Pushing open the door, she sighed happily as the heat hit her, forcing the coldness out of her trembling hands. **

**Flopping down on the sofa which was currently doubling as Matt's bed, Allie glanced at the clock on the DVD player and groaned, realising that she had less than an hour before she had to go back to the office. She had thought that given she'd just spent 2 months in New York clearing up someone else's mess that Jack would cut her some slack: she had thought very, very wrong. **

"**Hey, Pete?" she called over the sofa, apparently not having the energy to get up. **

"**Yeah?" he called back from where he was rifling through the kitchen cupboards for something to eat. Pulling out two slices of bread, he popped them in the toaster and leaned on the counter. **

"**Are you free on Saturday?" **

**Matt looked up at Pete who vehemently shook his head and threatening glare in his eyes telling Matt not to mention the fact there was a Hammers game on Saturday afternoon. Allie had never asked him not to go but at the same time, he knew how much she hated it and worried about it when he did. **

"**Sorry babe, I'm seeing Steve," he told her, feeling lower than dirt. "Why?"**

"**Oh nothing," she sat up and met his eyes over the back of the sofa. "I was just going to see if you wanted to go to the cinema or something. Lara's away for the weekend with…" she frowned. "I think its James, or Michael…I don't know, one of her men, so I'm all alone." **

"**You could start moving your stuff in here if you wanted?" Pete told her, slopping some jam on his toast and taking a huge bite. **

"**Or you could start packing?" she asked him, trailing off at the end. **

"**Allie," Pete shook his head. **

"**Oh come on," she begged. "My Dad more or less lives abroad now, Harry will be pissing off in a few weeks time for his next bloody adventure and that just leaves little old me in that big, big house," she grinned at him. "I'll let you play football in the foyer,"**

"**What about Lara?" he asked, chuckling. **

"**It's a six bedroom house Pete," Allie raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure she won't want to stay in our room 24/7." Watching as he rolled his eyes, she lifted herself onto her knees and rested her head on her arms on the back of the sofa. "Just think about it?" she asked. **

"**Ok," he smiled at her, holding out the plate of toast and watching as she wrinkled her nose. She always complained that he put too much jam on his toast, but every time she did, he asked her why she bothered eating chips with the amount of vinegar she put on them when she could just as easily drink from the bottle. **

"**Right, I have to go to work," she rolled her eyes at Pete's questioning stare. "Don't even get me started, I'm basically doing mine and Lara's jobs this weekend." She giggled. "Actually I don't want to think about what kind of jobs Lara's doing this weekend," **

"**I need a shower," Pete yawned and then laughed when both Matt and Allie looked at him. "Not because of what you just said," **

"**I'll bet," Allie grinned at him before reaching up and kissing him gently. "I'll see you later, ok?" she smiled when Pete leant forward again, trying to recapture her mouth, before giving up and planting a hot kiss on her neck instead before disappearing into the bathroom. **

**Fishing her car keys out of her bag, Allie patted Matt's shoulder as she passed him on her way to the door. **

"**See you later Matt," she'd only walked out of the door when suddenly she appeared again. "Wait, I almost forgot. Um, my brother Harry, is in town tonight and me and Pete are going out for some food with him, I think Lara's coming too so, if you're not doing anything, do you fancy tagging along?"**

**Matt smiled at her, genuinely touched that she had thought to include him in something that was more family orientated. **

"**Wow, Allie that'd be really great," he nodded. "If you're sure,"**

"**Of course," she grinned at him. "Just be ready for about 8, ok?" **

"**Yeah, sounds good," Matt nodded. **

"**Ok, well look I have to run but I'll see you later, ok?" she gave him a little wave before disappearing out the door, leaving Matt to think about what the hell he'd just gotten himself into. **

…………………………………

"**What the fuck took you so long?" Harry Harding put down the playstation pad and looked up at his sister and Pete who had just emerged from the bedroom. **

"**Having trouble choosing the right shade of lipstick to compliment your dress?"**

"**Very funny," Allie told him, ruffling his hair as she passed. **

"**I was actually talking to lover-boy," Harry grinned at Pete as he flopped down next to him, grabbing the other controller and slapping him over the head with his free hand. **

"**Tart," Pete muttered. **

"**Bitch," Harry shot back. **

"**Harry, did you book a table or are we winging it?" Allie asked, leaning on the back of the sofa. **

"**I told you to book somewhere," Lara told him in a sing song voice from where she was sat on one of the kitchen stools, flicking through a magazine.**

"**Not listening," Harry shot back. **

"**Oh please," she hopped off the stool and smirked at Allie. "He's just in a strop because I wiped the floor with him at Tekken,"**

"**I told you, one of the buttons was stuck," He snapped, quickly glancing over his shoulder at the two girls. "Oi, stop doing that same move you bastard!" Harry shouted as Pete's character kicked him in the head and then set him on fire. "It's cheating!"**

"**Piss off!" Pete laughed doing it again, just for effect. **

"**Ladies!" Allie stood up and sighed. "We can play playstation once we've had a few cocktails in us, but it's a Friday night and if we don't leave now, we haven't got a hope in hell of getting in anywhere."**

"**And just think, you've got to listen to that forever and ever and ever…" Harry laughed when he caught the grin pulling at Pete's lips, a grin that was soon wiped off when Allie leant over and switched off the console. **

"**Alyssa," Harry turned to face her. "You're my baby sister and I love you, but if you never, ever turn off a playstation in the middle of a game."**

"**It's true." Pete nodded. "A mate of Ike's had that happen once, and he just keeled over on the spot."**

"**See?" Harry pointed at him. "See what you could have done?"**

"**You're so retarded," Allie shook her head as she threw her mobile into her clutch bag.**

"**Speaking of, where's everyone else tonight?" Harry looked at Pete. "I haven't seen Dave or anyone since before I went travelling,"**

"**Dave's working tonight which means he's probably somewhere over the pissing Atlantic right now and as for the rest of the boys," Pete shrugged. "Two guesses."**

"**The Abby?" Harry winced. "Christ, I thought that place would have shut down by now,"**

"**Just because you had a prissy little rich boy bitch attack when you walked in doesn't mean it was going to get shut down," Allie told him, reapplying her lipstick in the mirror. Pete glanced at her and pissed himself, noting that Lara was doing the same while her brother settled for flipping her the finger. **

"**Right kids," Harry stood up and reached for his jacket. "Let's hit some bars,"**

"**I thought we were going for dinner?" Allie frowned, taking Pete's hand and following him to the door. **

"**By dinner, I meant a bar that sells peanuts," Harry smirked over his shoulder. "Joking," he held up his hands when he felt his sister smack the back of his shoulder. **

"**Oh wait, what about your other friend?" he asked. **

"**Oh shit, Matt." Allie winced, looking up at Pete. **

"**Its alright, I'll just text him and tell him to meet us…"**

"**At Zafferano," Harry grinned when Allie squealed with joy. "Told you I wasn't a complete retard."**

**Pulling the door open, he jumped frowning at the young man who was standing there, his key poised to enter the lock. **

"**Um, hello." Harry leant forward slightly. "I think you might have the wrong house,"**

"**Harry this is Matt," Allie rolled her eyes. "Shannon's brother. He's staying with Pete. We told you about him less than an hour ago."**

"**Oh right," Harry laughed, holding out his hand. "Sorry mate, they did tell me about you, I just have the memory of a sieve. But then three months of tripping on acid in Thailand will do that to you. Ow!" he looked over his shoulder at Allie who had just punched him again. "Fucking hell, where's your sense of humour tonight?"**

"**Hey," Matt laughed, shaking the man's hand. "I'm Matt,"**

"**Harry," he replied. "This one's big brother," he nodded towards Allie who mouthed 'sorry' over his shoulder. **

"**We were going to head out now, are you ready to leave?" Allie asked him. "Sure," he took off his back pack and walked past them into the flat. "Let me just dump this thing and…"**

"**Uh," Harry nervously scratched the back of his head. "You might want to loose the t-shirt and trainers," he smiled tightly. "It's not an overly fancy place, but you know what these posh London freaks are like,"**

"**You grew up in Sloane," Pete frowned. "You're the fucking definition of them,"**

"**Oi!" Allie laughed, elbowing him in the ribs. **

"**Sure, I'll just…" Matt nodded towards the bathroom. "I'll be back in a second."**

"**Shit," Harry mumbled as his phone started ringing, pulling it out of his pocket, he groaned at the name on the screen. **

"**Who's Ella?" Lara asked, raising an eyebrow and snatching the phone off of him.**

"**She's a very, very long story that I refuse to tell when I'm sober," he rolled his eyes and took the phone back. "I'm going to go outside and take this, do you want to meet me down there?"**

"**Yeah, sure." Allie smiled at him as he flipped the phone open and began trotting down the stairs, his laughter floating up to them long after they heard the elevator start moving. **

"**I bet it's a lady boy prostitute he accidentally ended up marrying," Lara huffed, leaning against the door. **

**Allie would never say it, but she had a sneaking suspicion that Lara and Harry's love-hate relationship had taken more of a turn towards love over the past year or so, but neither one of them would admit it. **

"**Sadly, I don't think I'd be that shocked," Allie shook her head. **

"**I didn't know Captain America was coming with us," Lara grinned, obviously keen to get off of the subject of Harry's love life. **

"**Yeah well at least I don't have to feel guilty for leaving him on his own with Bovver," Pete laughed. "That was a death match waiting to happen."**

**He tried to make himself sound and feel more enthusiastic at the thought of Matt tagging along with them, but it was hard, especially given the conversation he'd had with Dave last night. Pete was far from blind, he knew that Matt had something of a crush on Allie, but Dave had confided in him that he was getting concerned it might be a little bit more than that. How much more, Pete didn't want to think about, but he was hoping that it would go away on its own, because if it didn't, well….**

"**Is this ok?" Matt asked them, stepping out the front door and gesturing to his plain white shirt and shoes. **

"**Yeah," Allie nodded with a smile. "You look great."**

**Matt grinned back at her, and for whatever reason, Pete felt his fists clench behind his back. **

"**We should get going," Allie grabbed Pete's hand, smiling up at him when he wrapped an arm around her waist as they walked down to the elevator.**

"**Come on," Lara linked her arm through his. "You can be my sharking partner,"**

"**Sharking?" Matt frowned at the red head, not for the first time noticing what a knock out Lara was. Her auburn coloured hair and deep brown eyes set against her pale, almost shimmering skin made her seem look ethereal.**

"**Sharking," Lara nodded. "Like scouting for girls," she explained. "Except I'll be looking for guys. Point is, you're single, I'm single we're both painfully good looking and unlike the Sonny and Cher up ahead, we have London to use as our dating playground," she winked at him. **

**Matt laughed, suddenly feeling a lot less nervous about tonight, in fact with Lara there, there was a chance it might actually be fun.**

………………………………

"**And then," Harry gasped for breath, wiping the tears out of his eyes as he tried to get the next few words out of his mouth. "Allie slips on this…" glancing around the table he saw that Lara, Matt and Pete were in the same state as him, while his sister shook her head, pushing her tongue into her cheek as she stirred her cocktail. "Slips on this…piece of cucumber that someone had dropped out of their drink,"**

**Allie glared at Pete when he actually started laughing so hard that he began to choke. **

"**And flies, and I mean **_**flies **_**through the air, straight into Rich's wife, Jules who is the most boring bitch you'll ever meet in your life." He wiped his hands on his napkin and then threw it onto the table. "It was genius."**

"**It wasn't that funny," Allie rolled her eyes. **

"**You were the most drunk I've ever seen you, wearing a Super-Girl costume and singing 'Kiss' by Prince when it happened," Lara shook her head. "It was fucking hilarious."**

"**Plus, you took out Jules good and proper." Harry laughed, clutching his stomach. "That for me was the icing on the cake,"**

"**When was all this?" Matt asked, wincing as he noted his stomach actually hurt from laughing. **

"**Pete's 23****rd**** birthday party," Allie told him with smile. "But see what they won't tell you is that Pete almost exposed himself in front of everyone because he forgot to do up his Batman utility belt after coming back from the bathroom and Harry here ended up pulling Lara." She stood up from the table and grabbed her bag. "Twice."**

"**That I did," Harry told them, leaning back in his chair and winking at the red head who merely glared back. "In fact we did a little more than that, to the point where I considered changing her nickname from Loudmouth Lara to Big-Mouth Lara,"**

"**Oh my God!" Lara slapped his arm hard enough to make him wince. "That is such a lie,"**

"**You're disgusting," Allie tossed her napkin at him, knowing full well that was a lie. **

"**You're smelly," Harry shot back at her as she rolled her eyes before making her way over to the bar. **

"**Need some help?" Lara asked, getting up from the table and then wincing when her phone rang. "Rain check," she held up the phone and smiled apologetically. **

"**Matt will take my place," she shoved him forward. "Get him chatting to the brunette in the green," Lara told her, ignoring Matt's blush as she practically skipped out of the restaurant to take her call.**

"**Come on, lover boy," Allie laughed, grabbing Matt's arm. "You guys want the same again?" she asked Harry and Pete who both nodded. **

"**Oi," Pete called her back when she started to walk away. "Come here," he tilted his head and pulled her to him, reaching up and kissing her deeply. **

"**Brother at the table," Harry murmured over the drinks menu. "Brother at the table!"**

**Pulling away from Pete, Allie rolled her eyes at her brother and then licked her lips, grinning as Pete's hand moved down her back, gently pushing her towards the bar. **

"**That was subtle," Harry laughed, still not looking up from the drinks menu. "Maybe you could shoot him in the back of the head next, I'm sure Allie wouldn't pick up on that either." He put the menu down and grinned at the blue eyed man across from him. "Then if all else fails you can always piss in a circle around her."**

"**What the fuck are you on about?" Pete asked, taking a long sip of his drink. **

"**Oh come on Dunham," he nodded. "I like Matt just as much as you do, but it doesn't take a genius to work out that the little pip squeak has some deranged Billy Joel style crush on my sister."**

**Pete looked up at him threateningly and shook his head; he'd had this conversation with Dave last night and managed to somehow convince himself that it didn't bother him, but now, looking over at the bar and watching Matt say something to Allie that made her laugh and link her arm through his was enough to make his fists clench under the table. **

"**Easy there cupcake," Harry shook his head, downing the remainder of his JD and coke. "Nothing's going to come of it, she's with you, and you know that Allie would sooner set fire to an orphanage than even think about going there."**

"**I know," Pete told him, leaning forward. "But it doesn't make it any easier, you know? I mean what the fuck do I do? Do I say something to him? Or do I just pretend I have no fucking idea?"**

"**Ok, honest chances of something happening?" Harry asked him. **

"**Slim to none," Pete answered.**

"**Right, chances of you getting riled up while confronting him about it and eventually lamping him?"**

"**Pretty high."**

"**There you go then, it's the lesser of two evils," he shrugged and tapped his finger on the table. "He's a good lad, isn't it?"**

"**Yeah," Pete nodded. "He's sound,"**

"**So just let him, I don't know, let him have his moment," Harry shrugged. "Its ok to look so long as you don't touch,"**

"**That what you tell yourself about Lara?" Pete smirked. **

"**Piss off," Harry frowned. "I don't like her…not like that anyway,"**

"**Bollocks!" Pete laughed. "You've been staring at her half the fucking night and unless she's got food stuck to her face, you want to get in there, son."**

"**Breathe a word of this to anyone," he hissed. "And I swear to fucking God Dunham, you can kiss you **_**cahones**_** goodbye."**

**Pete was still laughing when Allie and Matt came back to the table, Matt carefully placing the tray of drinks in the middle.**

"**What's so funny?" Allie asked, sliding back into her chair next to Pete and taking a long sip of her margarita. **

"**Your brother was just telling me…about that Ella bird," Pete blurted out quickly. **

"**Oh really?" Allie raised an eyebrow. **

"**I told you that I wouldn't do this sober," he shook his head and sent his sister a tight lipped smile. **

"**Well in that case," she pushed the triple JD and coke in front of him, leaning her elbows on the table and grinning. "Start talking Nancy boy,"**

**The next chapter will be up at the weekend and I hope you made the best of all the fun and games because trust me when I say that something wicked this way comes…..;) **


	23. Chapter 23

**One week later…**

"**Mate, you should have seen the fucking slap he laid on me." Bovver laughed. "Not a punch, but a fucking slap,"**

"**Now, let's not be too harsh boys," Pete smirked. "Everyone knows the fucking Zulu's haven't actually managed to hit puberty yet,"**

**The boys started cracking up, joking about the fight that had just gone down; some rather young looking members of the Birmingham City FC firm had stumbled into the Abby after a few too many beers and started shooting their mouths off about how they'd just beaten the shit out of some bloke from the GSE. A few seconds later when Bovver had shown up announcing that the young lad leading the firm had slapped him as he got off of his bike, Pete and the rest of the boys thought it was only fair that they educate them in what a fight was really about.**

"**I don't know mate," Ned piped up from where he was searching through Pete's kitchen cupboards. "One of 'em proper fucking clocked me round the head." Pointing to the slight cut on his forehead, he rolled his eyes and held up a box of organic nutrition bars. "Mate, what's with all the fucking pansy food?" **

"**They're Allie's," Pete called to him. "And don't fucking eat any of them, not only will she kick the shit out of you, but they taste like crap."**

"**So what's the plan for Saturday then?" Bovver leant back in Pete's armchair and continued to flick through the TV. **

**Rubbing the back of his neck tiredly, Pete tried to get excited about the fact that this coming Saturday, the Hammers were playing Manchester United, but fuck, it was going to be a tough day. Despite the reputation the GSE had, the Red Army were ruthless, aside from Millwall, they were one of the biggest rivals the GSE had, and when it was the two of them together, it was never very pretty. **

"**Mate, I've heard Jack shit," Dave shook his head. "Which is mighty fucking strange, especially for the Reds because we all know how much they love to shoot their mouths off."**

"**Yeah but you heard about Thompson, didn't you?" Swill asked as he examined the stack of DVD's on Pete's shelf. **

"**Nah," Keith shook his head. "That was total bollocks,"**

"**Why?" Pete frowned. "What are talking about?"**

"**Who's Thompson?" Matt asked. **

"**Dean Thompson, the head of the Reds," Swill leant against the shelf and picked a piece of dried blood off of his lip. "Apparently he got fucking stabbed last weekend at the Millwall game,"**

"**Fuck off," Pete's head snapped up. Thompson was one of the hardest bastards out there; there was no one who would even have the balls to consider going after him like that. **

"**Shit's Gospel of Paul mate," Dave nodded. "Apparently it was one of Hatcher's boys, got a little bit too excited and glassed him in the stomach."**

"**Fuck me," Pete breathed. It was moments like this when the reality of what he was and what he did made him feel sick. **

"**Did he die?" Matt asked, ignoring the way his palms suddenly seemed to start sweating. The thought of people dying for this…it didn't bare thinking about. **

"**No idea," Dave shook his head. "I doubt it though; if he had there'd be fucking holy war on the streets right now."**

**The room fell silent for a moment, none of the boys actually looking at each other as they considered the implications of how Saturday could go down. Even though Millwall weren't playing, the Red's were and so that meant that Hatcher would more than likely show up just to settle the score. **

**Which meant there was a fairly high chance of having Millwall, West Ham and Manchester United all in one place. **

**It would be fucking carnage to say the least. **

**Pete was forced out of this thoughts when he heard the front door opening and turned to see Allie standing there looking at him; her usually bright green eyes darkening when she met his gaze. Pete frowned at her outfit; the cream coloured halter neck dress clung to her perfectly and her usually slightly wavy hair sat straight on her shoulders. She looked incredible, but as far as Pete knew, she'd only been at work today, so why was she so dressed up?**

"**Alright, Allie?" Swill grinned at her.**

"**Hey boys," she smiled sweetly. Too sweetly. Oh, fuck. Pete tried to think if he'd done anything wrong…because something was wrong with her. He knew that look in her eyes and it made him nervous. **

"**Baby, are you ok?" Pete stood up and moved over to her, but stopped when she slammed the door with enough force to even make the boys jump. **

"**Me?" she frowned, waving her hand dismissively. "I'm fine. I'm just…" she wrinkled her nose. "I'm just super."**

"**Ok," Pete smiled at her. "You look gorgeous."**

"**You think so?" she smiled. "Aw, you are so sweet." She put a hand over her heart and sighed. "I mean, really baby, that has made my day."**

"**Allie, what's going on?" he asked her.**

"**So," she smiled at him again. "Where were you tonight?" she asked, running her finger over the top of one of the chairs around the dining table. **

"**Tonight?" Pete frowned. "Just out with the boys," he laughed. "Listen, if you've had a bad day, this'll make you laugh, Bovver actually got-…"**

"**You selfish son of a bitch." Allie snapped at him, slamming her clutch bag down onto the table so hard that Pete actually flinched. **

"**What?" Pete looked at her as if she was mad, but that only seemed to make her angrier. **

"**I sat in that restaurant for an hour and a half, Pete!" she shouted, her patience finally snapping. "Do you have any idea how fucking stupid I felt having to explain to my brother and his prissy arse wife that you must have just forgotten?"**

"**Allie," Pete shook his head. "What dinner?"**

**Because Richard had been unavailable the other night when they went out with Harry, he had asked Allie and Pete to have dinner with him and his wife Jules on Wednesday night, but today was Tuesday…so what the hell was she talking about?**

"**Oh my God!" she clutched her head. "I can't believe you! You're actually going to stand there and deny the fact you knew anything about it? Fuck me, Dunham I thought you'd at least try and come up with some kind of bullshit excuse before resorting to that."**

"**Maybe you should calm down and try using your indoor voice," Pete snapped at her. **

"**Maybe you should fuck off!" she shouted, poking his chest hard. "And don't you dare stand there and patronise me, in case you hadn't noticed, **_**you're **_**the one that screwed up here!"**

"**Screwed up?" Pete shouted back at her, temporarily forgetting that the boys were still in the room. "Have you lost your fucking mind? I don't know what you're jabbering on about!"**

"**Oh," Allie shook her head. "You know what, Pete? Talk to me when you've grown up, because I'm done." She shoved past him and stormed into his bedroom, slamming the door behind her with enough force to make the shelf under the mantle shake. **

**Staring at the closed door, Pete tried to work out what the hell was going on with her; he wasn't supposed to meet her tonight. They were having dinner with Richard tomorrow night, he knew because last night in bed they'd been joking about it, trying to come up with excuses to get out of it. **

"**Right, we're gonna piss off," Dave told him, clapping his shoulder. "Go talk to her, yeah?" he whispered. "Whatever's happened, she's a good girl, and you can bet your life she didn't mean any of that."**

**Nodding, Pete smiled at him as he made his way to the front door, the other boys with the exception of Matt following close behind him. **

"**Fuck me, I've never been so glad to be single." Ike muttered under his breath. **

"**Yeah, just remember that when you're sat at home on your own wanking over Desperate Housewives tonight," Keith quipped, grinning when Bovver and Dave roared with laughter. **

**Matt watched as the front door closed and suddenly realised that for the sake of his own safety, he probably should have gone with them. Glancing at Pete who was still staring at the door, he reached for his jacket and smiled sadly at him. **

"**I think I might, um…" he trailed off. **

"**Yeah," Pete nodded. "Probably best, mate. Fuck I have no idea what's going on with her, but I'm going to have to find out at some point."**

**Opening the front door, Matt cast one last look at his friend before walking out and down the hallway, suddenly feeling a little bit ill when he realised that this was all his doing.**

**Allie threw the last of her toiletries into her overnight bag and glanced around the bedroom to see if there was anything else she would need to take with her. Spotting her hairbrush on the dresser, she walked over and snatched it, purposely not letting her eyes linger on the photo of her and Pete at his birthday party from last year. **

"**What are you doing?" **

**Allie jumped and looked up into the mirror, seeing Pete standing behind her; she had been so caught up in her anger she hadn't even heard the door open. Looking away again, she turned back to her bag which was on the bed and dropped the brush inside before quickly zipping it up. **

"**I'm going home for a few days," she told him, her voice cold and monotone. **

"**Fucking hell, Allie," Pete stepped closer to her. "That's a bit extreme don't you think?"**

"**No." She shook her head. "I think it's what I need to do, because if I stay here any longer, I'm going to go insane,"**

"**Look," Pete tried to keep his voice calm. "I'd say I'm sorry, but I don't know what I'm apologising for!" he laughed. "Do you have any idea how ridiculous that is?"**

"**And do you have any idea how stupid I felt?" she hissed at him, flinging her bag onto the floor and glaring at him. "I had to sit there for over an hour, listening to Richard go on and on about how 'reliability is one of the key aspects of marriage'" she quoted, imitating her brothers annoying voice. Sometimes she found herself wondering how they were related; her and Harry were so much like their father from their slightly warped sense of humour to their sense of adventure, but Richard was dull and calculated. Harry often joked that there must have been a mix up at the hospital when he was born, because no other member of the Harding family was that boring. **

"**And since when do you give a shit about what Richard says?" Pete asked her. **

"**I don't," she shook her head. "But I do give a shit about you. You know, if you didn't want to come, I wouldn't have minded. I would have made something up, I know Rich is a boring bastard, Christ even my Dad thinks he is," Allie laughed mirthlessly. "But you couldn't do that, could you? You had to let me down and make me look like a fucking moron."**

"**I didn't fucking let you down, Allie!" Pete shouted at her. "I didn't know we were going tonight!"**

"**Ok, you know what, standing me up is one thing, but lying to my face?" she scoffed. "Bravo, Pete. Way to work the old Dunham family charm."**

"**Look," he put his head in his hands and tried to keep calm; Jesus this woman was annoying. "You said to me last night that Richard wanted us to meet him for dinner on Wednesday. Today is fucking Tuesday, so why would I have been at the restaurant tonight?"**

"**Because I called you earlier and left a message!" Allie rolled her eyes. **

"**What message?" Pete frowned. He didn't have so much as a text from her on his phone, let along a voice mail. **

"**Pete, I'm through with playing the 'I-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about-game', alright?" she sighed tiredly. "I'm just going to go home,"**

**Pete reached out and grabbed her arm, preventing her from walking past him. Looking down into her eyes, he saw the hurt there and cursed himself; gently cradling her head, he looked at her seriously. **

"**Allie," he whispered, shaking his head. "I didn't get any message on my phone,"**

"**I didn't leave you one on your phone," she pushed his hand away. "I left it with Matt."**

**Pete stopped dead. Matt took the message? The same Matt who had spent most of tonight with him and therefore had about a million opportunities to let him know?**

"**What?" he growled. **

"**I called the flat at, I don't know, maybe 4 this afternoon," she rubbed her forehead tiredly. "Matt answered the phone and I told him to tell you that the plans had changed and we were meeting Richard tonight."**

"**Stupid little prick," Pete hissed, pulling away from her and lacing his hands behind the back of his head. "He never gave me the fucking message,"**

"**What?" Allie frowned. "But I told him…"**

"**Yeah, well apparently he didn't feel the need to fucking tell me." Pete shouted. **

"**Pete," Allie sighed. "Look, he probably just forgot." She walked over to him and gently touched his arm. "Baby, look at me…I'm sorry for going off at you, I just…"**

"**He didn't forget." Pete snorted, turning to face her and cursing as he saw the sadness in her eyes. "He did it on purpose."**

"**What?" Allie frowned. **

"**I should have fucking known this was coming," he shook his head, talking more to himself now than to her. **

"**What's coming?" she shook her head. "I don't get what you're talking about."**

"**Matt." He snarled. **

"**Matt?" Allie repeated. **

"**He's likes you," Pete told her.**

"**Oh my God," Allie laughed. "Not this again, for God sake, Pete!"**

"**You think I'm having you on?" he laughed mirthlessly. "Even Dave has noticed it, Allie; your own fucking brother mentioned it the other night. Ever since he met you, Matt's been all over you."**

"**Pete, he's a friend." She stressed the word friend, shaking her head as Pete began pacing the bedroom. **

"**You honestly don't fucking see it, do you?" he looked at her in amazement. **

"**No!" She shouted. "See what? What am I supposed to see?"**

"**He's in love with you." Pete shouted.**

**Allie looked at him seriously for a moment and then burst out laughing. ****Pete stared at her in surprise…she thought that this was **_**funny?**_

"**You…" she broke into another bout of giggles. "You actually think that Matt's **_**in love with me**_**?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. **

"**Is it so fucking hard to believe?" he asked in exasperation. **

"**Matt?" she asked with a shake of her head. "Matt Buckner? Yeah, I'd say it's pretty much impossible to believe!" **

"**He flirts with you." Pete argued, meeting her gaze head on. How was it that she couldn't see what was was going on?**

"**Lara flirts with **_**you**_**," Allie shot back.**

"It's different." He dismissed her and she laughed, throwing her hands in the air.

"**How exactly is it different?" she demanded. **

"**Because Lara isn't a fucking threat to you." He shouted back at her and the room fell silent. **

"**And what the hell makes you think even for a second that Matt is a threat to you?" she asked him, her eyes wide open. "I mean, Jesus, Pete he's a friend. He's your friend first and foremost and you know that even if what you were saying wasn't bullshit which by the way you know it is, he would **_**never**_** do anything." She paused and looked at him seriously. "I'm in love with you. Not Matt or anyone else. **_**You.**_**"**

**Pete shook his head and turned away from her, slamming his fist against the wardrobe and making Allie jump; she knew that he wasn't angry with her, but she didn't want him to be angry with Matt either. They were close friends and she wasn't about to see that get screwed up by a few crossed wires. **

"**It was wrong of him not to give you the message," Allie leant against the bed rail. "I'm not defending him, ok? But I just think that maybe you're blowing this out of proportion."**

"**You reckon?" Pete looked at her in amazement, trying to work out whether she was simply naïve or just plain stupid. "Alright, let me ask you this," he narrowed his eyes at her. "How do you think you'd feel if you found out Lara had feelings for me?" Pete felt his chest start to tighten as the pure fury flowed through his veins. "If every time she walked into the room, you had to look at her knowing that she was thinking about me? About what it would be like to be with me?"**

"**Why are you doing this?" Allie whispered, shaking her head. **

"**Doing what?" he snapped. "All I'm trying to do is get it into your head that this isn't some stupid fucking school boy crush."**

"**And so what if its not?" She screamed. "Say I believe you and that Matt does have feelings for me, so fucking what?" Allie threw her hands in the air impatiently. "I don't have any feelings for him. He's a friend, a mate, a guy that I've only known for just over a month. The only way that Matt would ever be a threat to you is if I liked him back and guess what Einstein?" she shoved him back. "I damn well don't."**

"**Allie, I know you," Pete shook his head. "You're too fucking nice to people, you know what if one day he makes a fucking move?"**

"**What?" Allie screamed, her lungs feeling like sandpaper from shouting too much. "You think I'd shag him just because I'm too nice to say 'no' or something?" she looked at him as though he were mad. "Fucking hell, Pete, what's wrong with you?"**

"**That's not what I meant," he shouted back. **

"**You know what?" Allie held up her hands. "All of this bullshit comes down to one question: do you trust me?"**

"**What?" Pete asked her, his voice coming out harsher than he had intended. **

"**Do you trust me?" she repeated. "Because I can tell you right now that if after almost four years together, you don't trust me, then we are making the biggest fucking mistake of our lives by getting married."**

**Pete looked at her for a long moment, wondering how she could actually stand there and ask him that. He trusted her with his life, let alone another bloke. Her heart was too big; there was no way in hell someone like Allie was even capable of thinking that, never mind actually going out and doing it. **

"**Allie, it's not about that," he told her impatiently. **

"**What?" she cried. "That's basically **_**all **_**this is fucking about! So just answer the question: do you trust me?"**

"**It's him I don't trust," Pete shook his head. "Not you."**

"**But if you trust me then you have to know that nothing would ever, **_**ever**_** happen." She pleaded, the energy slowly draining from her body. "Pete?"**

**He looked down at her, her bright green eyes shimmering with tears as she bit her bottom lip to keep from sobbing; how had they gotten to this point? Allie was always certain that she and Pete would get through anything, but the way he was looking at her now, as though she was some kind of stranger, was breaking her heart. **

"**I need to get out for a while," he shook his head, snagging his jacket off of the bed and pulling it on before heading to the bedroom door. "I can't deal with this."**

"**Pete, please don't just walk out, ok?" Allie pleaded. "You can't just throw all that at me and then walk out, it's not fair."**

"**Its fine," Pete told her, giving her a smile that didn't even try to meet his eyes. "I just need some air," he leant forward and kissed her on the forehead, not letting his lips linger there or touching her face like he usually did. He didn't even look her in the eyes. "I'll be back later,"**

**Allie stood there speechless as she watched him walk out, hearing the front door slam a second later. Looking down, her vision blurred as the tears in her eyes became too much but she could still make out how badly her hands were shaking. **

**What the hell had just happened? She and Pete never fought and when they did it was usually over something stupid that would be settled in a matter of minutes, but this…this felt different. Slumping back down onto the edge of the mattress, she stared down at the ring on her finger and gritted her teeth, trying unsuccessfully to keep the sobs from escaping her throat. Curling up into a ball on her side like she used to when she was a little girl, Allie stared out of the bedroom window as she cried, desperately hoping she would fall asleep soon so that she could convince herself this was all a horrible dream. **


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: I thought it was a bit harsh to leave you hanging on such a will they/won't they/are they cliff so here's part 2 of this chapter...the reviews were wonderful as always so in the words of Ms Spears 'Gimme more!' (Sorry folks, it was a bit of a late night...again.) **

****

**Stopping in front of Pete's front door, Matt looked down at his watch and tapped his finger hesitantly on the glass face. It had only just gone 1am, but he was sure Pete and Allie would have sorted everything out by now; which meant they had worked out that he was to blame. Pulling his key out of his pocket, he just hoped that they had both gone to bed so he could grab his backpack and head to Steve and Shannon's for a couple of days while the heat died down. Opening the door, he squinted into the darkness of the flat, relief flooding his system as he shut the door behind him, realising that they must actually be in bed. **

**Leaning against it, he closed his eyes and sighed, wondering what the hell had possessed him to behave the way he had; it was true he had feelings for Allie, but that didn't mean for a second that he wanted her and Pete to break up or even fight. Shit, at this point, he didn't know what he wanted.**

"**Pete?" **

**Matt looked up as Allie practically burst out the bedroom and flicked the living room lights on, her eyes clouding over with disappointment when she saw Matt. Looking at her, Matt saw she had changed out of her dress and into her track pants and a plain white t-shirt, her hair pulled up into a loose pony tail and her usually sparking eyes red and blood shot from hours of crying. **

"**Hey," Matt smiled at her sadly. **

"**Hi," She practically whispered back. "Sorry, I thought you were Pete," **

"**He's not here?" Matt looked at her as she stared down at the floor, suddenly fascinated by her feet. **

"**No," she laughed quietly. "We had a fight and he left about," she glanced at the clock. "Oh, two hours ago."**

"**You had a fight?" Matt asked her, stepping a little bit further into the flat. **

**Allie simply nodded, the lump in her throat getting bigger and tears began streaming down her face again; reaching up, she swiped angrily at them, but they continued to fall. **

"**It was really bad, Matt." She choked out, seeming to get smaller in front of him. "I mean, we never fight…not like that," she shook her head. "I'm really scared that I screwed everything up,"**

"**Hey, hey, hey," Matt rushed over to her and pulled her into a hug. "It's ok," he whispered over the top of her head. "I promise you, it'll be alright. Y'know this is Pete we're talking about, he loves you so much," Matt held her at arms length and sent her a smile. "He's probably feeling the exact same way you are,"**

**Allie shook her head again, looking down at their feet as she tried to get her breathing back under control. **

"**Look, I'm going to make you some coffee, ok?" Matt looked her in the eyes. "And if you want, I'll stay up and wait with you,"**

"**Thanks," Allie whispered as he directed her towards the sofa before heading into the kitchen and pulling two mugs out of the cupboard. He could fix this; he **_**had **_**to fix this because at the end of the day, it was his mess. **

"**Where did you go?" Allie asked him, pulling a tissue out of her pocket and wiping her eyes. She had made a point of avoiding all reflective surfaces so far; it seemed unfair that when people cried in films they still looked fairly decent, whereas Allie somehow ended up with a red nose, puffy eyes and make up everywhere. **

"**I just went with the guys to the Abby," he told her, stirring the coffees and putting the milk back into the fridge. "It was too late to go see Shannon, and I knew that you guys needed some time alone so…"**

**He shrugged and walked over to the living room, handing her one of the huge mugs of coffee before sitting in the armchair across from her, deciding that given the circumstances it was marginally safer. **

"**Thanks for this," Allie sniffed as she took a long sip of coffee and then placing it on the table in front of her. "I'm sorry that you had to get caught in the middle of all that," she snorted. "Another innocent bystander gets pulled into the 'Pete Hates Allie' show."**

"**Ok, if there is one thing I know about Pete," Matt laughed. "It's that he would never, ever in a million years, even if he wanted to, be able to hate you."**

"**You reckon?" Allie raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't be too sure, I mean you didn't see him tonight, Matt. It was like he didn't know me anymore. But then to tell you the truth, the man standing in there with me, wasn't Pete. I mean, he just wouldn't let the fucking thing go," she cried angrily. "He kept going on and on and on…"**

"**What?" Matt frowned in confusion. **

"**Oh," Allie shook her head and sighed heavily, reaching for her cup of coffee again. "Pete somehow managed to get the impression that," she stared at him. "Are you ready for this?"**

**Matt nodded feeling more than a little nervous. **

"**Pete thinks that you have feelings for me," she laughed. "Which is the most fucking ridiculous thing I have ever heard in my life, but once Pete gets something set in his head, it stays there. And it doesn't help that apparently my own bloody brother not to mention Dave happened to throw their two cents in and say that they thought you were 'too flirty' with me," she rolled her eyes. **

**Matt felt like he couldn't move; this was actually his worst nightmare. He couldn't quite work out what was going to be worse: telling Allie or having Pete beat him until his body was nothing but liquid. **

"**Oh, hun don't worry," Allie caught the look on his face and smiled. "He knows its crap, he's just too riled up to see sense right now, I mean **_**I **_**know that it's not true…"**

**Glancing up, she saw Matt staring at her and suddenly felt a little bit nervous. **

"**Right?" she asked quietly, knowing full well she didn't want to know the answer but at the same time unable to stop herself. **

"**Allie," Matt shook his head and then looked down into his coffee cup. The silence in the room was almost suffocating but by staring into his warped reflection in the surface of the hot liquid, he could almost pretend he wasn't actually there. Looking back up at her after a long moment, he met her wide emerald eyes and took a deep breath, the look she was giving him telling him that she already knew his answer. **

"**Oh shit," she whispered. **

**How. The hell. Had this happened?**

**He was Matt…her mate, the cute American guy that was staying with her boyfriend and when she said cute, Allie meant it in the way she found Bambi cute. How was it possible that he had developed all these feelings for her and she hadn't seen it?**

"**I'm so sorry," Matt told her. **

"**Wait, so the whole forgetting to give Pete my message thing," she looked up at him and frowned, her voice just above a whisper. "Tell me that wasn't on purpose."**

"**No," Matt shook his head. "I genuinely forgot to let him know, ok? I would never pull anything like that. I didn't mean for any of this to happen," he laughed mirthlessly. "Believe me when I say that I know having feelings for your best friends' fiancé isn't exactly smart."**

**Allie nodded, tucking her hands in between her knees as she tapped her feet nervously. **

"**So when you say…" Allie cleared her throat. "When you say feelings, so you mean like, a crush or something?" **

**Matt looked at her for a long moment and watched as he eyes widened again, her hands flying to cover her mouth. **

"**Oh shit!" she whispered again, standing up and starting to pace the hallway. **

"**Allie, please don't be mad," Matt begged her. "Look I know that nothing would ever happen…"**

"**No it wouldn't," she snapped at him. "Ever."**

"**I know that," Matt explained. "You have no idea how badly I wish I could just…turn this off, but I can't. Maybe…maybe it's because you were the first person here other than Pete who really tried with me, y'know. I mean you were so nice to me from day one…"**

"**Dave's nice to you," Allie shook her head, pacing faster. "Swill, too. Why don't you have feelings for them?"**

**Against his will, Matt felt a grin pull at his lips. Quickly stepping in front of her so that she would have to stop pacing for a second at least, Matt looked into Allie's eyes, silently pleading with her to understand. **

"**I'm really sorry," he told her. "I never meant to fuck everything up the way I have done. Pete's my best friend here and you…" he trailed off. "I care about both of you way too much to even think about something like that,"**

"**Oh God," she grasped her head and closed her eyes tightly. "I defended you! I told Pete that there was no way that you could…" she threw her hands in the air and growled. "Jesus Matt! Oh this isn't happening," she whispered. "This isn't happening." Pulling her hands away from her face, she looked at him seriously. "Why couldn't you tell me?" she whispered, shaking her head. **

"**What good would it have done?" Matt laughed. "It's not like you were going to turn around, dump Pete and run away with me,"**

**Matt shut up as she sent him a scalding look, realising too late that it was probably too soon to be joking around.**

"**Please tell me you weren't actually expecting that kind of reaction?" she spat at him. **

"**No," Matt laughed. "No of course I wasn't thinking that."**

"**Then what **_**were**_** you thinking, Matt?" she shook her head. "I mean, what the hell were you thinking!"**

"**I wasn't I guess," he tried to explain. "I just, I didn't want to fall for you-…"**

"**Whoa," Allie held up her hands. "Fall? What do you mean 'fall', you've only known me a month, there should be no 'falling'."**

"**You think I wanted this to happen?" Matt almost shouted. He couldn't work out which emotion was worse, the anger or the utter humiliation. "You said to me that you never expected yourself to fall for Pete and then you did, in like, what…a night?"**

"**Hey!" Allie shouted, pointing at him. "You know what? You know jack shit about me and Pete, ok so don't you dare talk about our relationship like that."**

"**I'm not," Matt threw his head back and growled. "I'm not comparing myself to Pete; I'm just saying you should be able to understand,"**

"**Understand?" Allie shrieked. "The only think I understand is that you obviously have shit for brains! It's not like me and Pete have just been fooling around for a few months…we're engaged!"**

"**Again, that would be something that falls into the category of 'things I already know!'" he shouted. **

"**Really, Matt?" Allie raised her eyebrows. "You already knew that did you? And here was silly old me thinking that if you were aware of that then you would have stopped yourself from…" she trailed off, sighing angrily. **

"**From what?" Matt laughed. "Falling in love with you?"**

"**Don't say that," Allie groaned, dropping her head into her hands. "You're not in love with me; you don't even bloody **_**know **_**me!"**

"**You just said we were friends," Matt told her. **

"**Yeah, I did," she laughed. "Because we are friends, but Matt you've known me just over a month…that's what? 5 weeks at the most…"she lifted her hands in defeat. "You don't fall for someone in 5 weeks," **

"**I was never expecting anything to happen," Matt told her. "Contrary to the way you're speaking to me right now, I'm not some social retard, ok? I know you're out of bounds."**

"**Out of bounds?" Allie wrinkled her nose in disgust. "No Matt, you're grandmothers cookie jar is out of bounds, that Ferrari the guy across the street drives is out of bounds, the x-rated movies in the video store are out of bounds, **_**I **_**am not even on the fucking radar!" **

**Pushing past him, she slid down the wall and let her head fall back; this night was giving her the worst headache known to mankind. All she wanted was for Matt to realise he didn't love her and it was all just a cry for attention, and for Pete to come home preferably after Matt had gone because she didn't fancy having to pay to get her clothes dry cleaned because Matt's blood wouldn't come out with normal detergent. **

"**Have I fucked everything up?" he asked her quietly. **

"**Yes!" she shouted, throwing her arms in the air and then relenting slightly when she saw the look on his face. "No," she sighed, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Matt, I didn't mean to go…" she waved her hand. "Crazy. I just…I just feel like I could have done something you know?"**

"**Like what exactly?" Matt sat down on the floor next to her, careful not to let any part of their bodies touch. "Allie, you had no idea what was going in my head…shit, **_**I **_**had no idea what was going in my head."**

"**No, but I could have…"Allie shrugged. "Christ, I don't know! I could have set you up with Lara; she's like the cure for every relationship going. Or I just could have talked to you," she smiled at him. "I mean, we're friends, right?"**

"**Of course we are," Matt told her seriously. "That's friends with a capital 'F'," he laughed sadly. "So how badly do you think this is going to go down with Pete on a scale of one to ten?"**

"**I'm not sure," she looked at him with a slight smile. "What comes after a trillion?"**

"**Shit," Matt hissed. "Do you think he'll kill me?"**

"**I wouldn't rule it out," she joked, linking her hands together over her knees and glancing at the clock. It had just gone 02.27 and there was still no sign of the man in question. She'd given up trying to call him an hour ago, after being diverted to answer machine 13 times a row, it was hard not to get the message that you were unwanted. **

"**I should probably start getting my stuff together," he nodded towards his backpack by the front door. **

"**Yeah," Allie nodded, biting her lip. Why did she feel so bad? Matt had said himself that this wasn't her fault.**

"**I'm really sorry, Matt," Allie reached out and touched his arm gently. **

"**Don't be," he smiled back at her.**

**They sat in silence for a moment, both of them thinking about how much this little revelation would alter their friendship, whether they wanted it to or not. **

**After a long moment, Matt turned to face her, a strange smile on his face. **

"**You know something?" he laughed. "Even though its potentially going to get me killed, I'm really glad that I told you. Because I hated lying to you as a friend," he shrugged. "Because no matter what else I think is going on in my head, that's how I'll always think of you before anything else."**

**Nudging him gently, Allie smiled and touched his arm. Surprisingly enough for Matt it felt almost sisterly…as most as though telling her this, saying it out loud had made him realise how ridiculous it all was. **

"**I'll always be your friend, Matt," she told him. "No retarded feelings you think you have will ever change that,". **

"**Do you fancy helping me pack?" he asked her, pulling himself to his feet and then offering her his hand. **

"**Sure," Allie nodded, watching sadly as he began dismantling his 'bed', chucking the sheets and pillows into a messy pile on the floor. **

"**What are you going to tell him?" Matt asked quietly, not letting himself look up from what he was doing. **

"**Nothing."**

**Matt looked up at her in complete and utter shock, but he could tell from the look on her face that she was completely serious. **

"**What?" **

"**Matt, nothing happened," she shook her head. "Nothing is going to happen. I'm with the man I love and you…" she tried to smile. "You're just, insanely confused." **

**Matt laughed and leant back against the sofa, looking at her in wonder. She truly was an amazing girl. **

"**I love things the way they are," Allie reasoned. "And I know that whether we want it to or not, telling Pete is only going to hurt him and screw up your friendship and for what?" she shrugged. "A stupid crush that in a few weeks time you'll look back on and cringe?" she smiled tightly at him. "And if I'm being honest, he more or less knows anyway, so now it's just a case of convincing him not to murder you in your sleep." Allie frowned at him. "Speaking of sleep, where are you planning on going?"**

"**Um, I don't know," Matt shrugged. "I'll find somewhere,"**

"**Well, if you're completely at a loss, I think I know someone who'll take you in."**

……………………………

"**So you're in love with Allie?"**

**Matt looked up at Lara as she offered him a spoon and then sat cross legged on the floor across from him, digging into the ice cream with gusto. **

"**Is that what you think?" Matt asked her. **

"**That's what the world thinks," she rolled her eyes and swallowed the mouthful of Hagen Daas. "Can I ask you something?"**

"**Could I stop you even if I said no?" Matt joked, flicking his spoon at her. **

"**Probably not," she shifted and leant her head on her elbows, her deep brown eyes staring at him intently. "I don't mean this to come out…badly, or anything I just uh…did you honestly think you had a shot?"**

**Matt paused, his spoon which was over flowing with ice cream almost half way to his mouth. Did he really think that he stood a chance with Allie Harding? Remembering the way she would smile when Pete walked into a room, the glow in her eyes that would appear whenever someone mentioned his name, the faint smile she would wear when she fell asleep on his chest while watching TV. **

**And in that second Matt knew that he had never even stood a chance against Pete Dunham. Not that he'd wanted to; the fact that he felt about Allie the way he'd never felt for another girl before didn't for a second mean that he valued the brotherhood Pete had offered him any less. **

"**No." He told Lara honestly. "I never thought I had a shot."**

**Matt looked down for a long moment, letting it finally sink in; it was oddly freeing. **

"**Well, personally I think you had a lucky escape," Lara sighed dramatically. "Blonde, sweet, good sense of humour, down to earth, low maintenance, fits in well with the boys and has a killer rack," she pulled a face. "Who wants **_**that?"**_

**Against his will, Matt found himself laughing. Lara reminded him a lot of Allie; they had the same sense of humour, and the same ability to make you feel better about yourself in a matter of seconds, but Lara's eyes had something that Allie's didn't…he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he had to admit that it was intriguing. **

"**So come on, Captain America." She leant back against the cushions and pulled open the giant bag of strawberry laces next to her. "Let's start from the beginning shall we? And I want every detail, no matter how sordid." Taking a snapping bite of the laces, she grinned at him. "In fact the more sordid, the better."**

**Matt laughed and reached forward to snag some of the sweets before she complete devoured them, and then sat back as he began telling the tale of how the hell he had ended up in this mess. **

**It was just gone 6am by the time he finished. **


	25. Chapter 25

**Pete closed the front door behind him and chucked his keys onto the table; he'd just spent the last three hours walking around, trying to clear his head and it still hadn't really helped. In fact the more he thought about it the more is seemed to do his head in; Matt -one of his best mates- liked Allie -the woman he was planning on the back of his neck tiredly, Pete decided that if he wanted to hang onto his last smidgen of sanity, he was going the wrong way about it. **

**Glancing down, he noticed with a mixture of pleasure and confusion that Matt's backpack and jacket had disappeared from their usual spot. Tutting under his breath as he reached for the light switch, he realised that Matt must have forgotten to switch everything off when he left. Making his way to his bedroom, Pete felt the energy drain from his body with every step; after a night like tonight, all he wanted was to go to sleep and pretend none of it ever even happened. **

**Pushing the door open he stopped breathing for a second, his eyes glued to the sleeping girl curled up in the middle of the bed; realising that her face was still streaked with tears, Pete cursed himself, knowing that even though he could blame Matt until the day he died, it was in fact **_**him**_** who had done the majority to damage tonight. He hadn't meant to hurt her, but the thought of Allie with someone else…Pete closed his eyes for a second. It was too painful; it almost made him feel ill. And so he'd done the typical bloke thing, he'd panicked and then he'd taken it out on her. **

**Reaching down, he gently brushed a piece of hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear before leaning down and pressing a soft kiss against her temple. **

**She stirred slightly but didn't wake up which he figured was a good thing given they both needed some rest right now. Pulling off his shirt, he glanced around the room and noticed that all the things she had packed earlier on where right back where they usually were. Her hairbrush on his desk, the odd shaped bottles of perfume strewn about his dresser, the ridiculously high heeled shoes resting just under the bed. Smiling to himself, Pete climbed onto the bed behind her, moving slowly so as not to risk waking her and then gently wrapped his arms around her body. As though sensing him, Allie shifted back slightly in her sleep so that her back was pressed against his chest and sighed. Burying his face in the back of her shoulder, Pete kissed the soft skin there and then closed his eyes. Everything would be alright in the morning…it had to be. **

**If he let himself think otherwise, he'd stop breathing. Because that's ultimately what Allie was to Pete…his life. He had the GSE and the boys, he had his job, but none of it would hold any substance or meaning if he didn't have her. **

**Now it was just a case of making sure Allie knew that**

* * *

**Opening her eyes slowly, Allie tried to assess what day it was. **

**Monday? Thursday? Wait, she didn't have work today which meant it was...Sunday? God, why did she feel hung over? Could excess stress actually cause some kind of drama induced no-alcoholic hang over?**

**Fuck it, she thought with a groan. After last night, she didn't care what day it was or how she felt; looking out the window, she saw the sunshine and rolled her eyes. Great, the one day when she's truly depressed and everyone else was bound to be flitting about going on about 'what a beautiful spring day' they were having. **

**Well, they could all fuck off, because for once in her life, Allie Harding was far from being in the mood to play little miss sunshine. Realising she was only antagonising herself, she rolled onto her back rather forcefully, her hand flying out to the side of her and hitting something hard. **

"**Fuck!"**

**Snapping her head to the side, she watched as Pete lay there staring at her, his hand clasped over his nose. She didn't think that he'd bothered coming home last night, she definitely hadn't heard him come in, but then again, she had forced her body into some kind of tear induced coma, so to be honest Pete could have come in and set a nuclear bomb off next to her head and she wouldn't have woken up. **

"**Oh my God, are you ok?" she winced, sitting up slightly, frowning when she realised that they had fallen asleep on top of the covers. **

"**Yeah," Pete shook his head. "I forgot how fierce you're right hook is though,"**

**Allie fought the urge to grin, remembering one night years ago when she had accidentally given him a black eye while wrestling him for the remote control. **

**If it was a case of Match of the Day or Sex and the City 2 hour special, she would have fought to the death. **

"**When did you get in?" Allie asked him quietly. **

"**About 3," he told her, pulling his hand away from his nose and sniffing lightly. "You were pretty much flat out so I didn't want to wake you up."**

"**Oh," Allie nodded, sitting up so she was cross legged and picking pieces of imaginary lint off of the duvet cover. She could feel Pete's eyes on her, but forced herself not to look up; a part of her was still angry at him for just walking out like he had done, she had been willing to stand there and talk it through, to sort it out, but Pete had to go and leave her. **

"**I know 'I'm sorry' sounds shit, but it's all I've got," he told her, sitting up so that he was facing her, wincing slightly when his still stinging nose caused his eyes to water. **

"'**Sorry' only sounds shit when you don't mean it." Allie met his eyes for the first time and he realised how red they still were and how tired she looked even though she had slept all night. His stomach seemed to lurch with guilt when he realised that he had done this to her. **

"**Well I do," Pete shook his head. "I was a complete fucking idiot," he told her, reaching out and cupping her cheek. "I know that now, but I just, I got scared…" he wined when he realised that something wet was dripping onto his palm and shut his eyes for a moment. He didn't need to open them to know that Allie was crying. **

"**Oh scared of what?" she scoffed. "Of some little theory that you, Dave and Harry somehow managed to cook up." Looking at him seriously for a moment, she pushed his hand away from her face and stood up, leaving him sitting on the bed by himself. "Do you have any idea what its like to have the person you love more than anything else in the world to make you feel as though they don't trust you?" she raised an eyebrow at him. "It makes you feel lower than shit is the answer in case that big, all knowing brain of yours was too busy trying to figure out who else is in love with me to think about it."**

**Pete frowned at her. "Allie, I trust you more than anyone else in the world," he stood up and gently cupped her face, holding her chin and keeping her gaze locked on his. "Don't ever doubt that, ok? Ever."**

"**If that was true, then why did you fly of the handle at me?" she demanded. "Why did you have to question, even for a second that there was a possibility something could happen between me and Matt?"**

"**Because I'm a bloke," he laughed. "And we tend to panic when we find out one of our best mates wants to shag our girlfriends,"**

"**What you don't think I get pissed off when we're out and I see girls eyeing you up like you're their next bloody meal?" she raised and eyebrow and folded her arms defensively. "But then I remember that it's **_**you**_** I'm with and that you would never ever do that to me, and you know what? I end up laughing at those girls,"**

"**Baby," Pete pushed himself to the edge of the bed and leant his elbows on his knees for a second, before sighing and standing up, looking at her seriously. "I know that I fucked up, and I handled it wrong. But the idea of him…" he shook his head. "Allie, I messed up." His voice cracked slightly and she relented, seeing the desperation in his eyes. Walking over to him, she pulled his head down to hers and kissed him gently, laying her head against his shoulder. **

"**I never meant to hurt you," he told her, kissing the top of her head. **

"**What are you planning on doing about Matt?" she asked, wincing when she noticed how his eyes darkened upon hearing the other man's name. **

"**He's gone," Pete shrugged. "I think he left this morning,"**

"**Last night actually," Allie absentmindedly traced the lines of his tattoo with her finger tips. "He came back about 2 hours after you left,"**

"**Did you talk to him?" Pete asked her, trying to keep focused, but it was a little hard with her running her fingers over his chest like that. He looked up into her face when she didn't answer and then suddenly it hit him. **

"**Fucking hell, Allie," Pete burst out. See, there it was, the point he was making last night about her being too nice. Fucking hell, if this woman ever got mugged, she probably end up making tea for the bloke doing it and having a nice cosy chat with him about where it all must have gone wrong. **

"**I had to," she protested. "What was I supposed to say when he asked me why I was crying?" **

"**You were crying?" Pete gulped, feeling almost physically sick knowing that he was responsible for it. **

"**No, Pete," she laughed. "After my boyfriend of three years who recently proposed to me left me sitting on my own thinking that he's more or less expecting me to cheat on him, I broke out the margarita mix and had myself a little party."**

**Pete shook his head and let out a deep breath, trying to gather his patience; sensing this, it occurred to Allie that as pissed off as she was at him right now, antagonising him probably wasn't going to get them anywhere. **

"**Ok, look, remember when you compared it to how I would feel if Lara had feelings for you?" she sighed. "Well, I'd want you to talk to her, because I know how much it would hurt her if you just stopped. And it's the same with you and Matt," she cupped his face. "Because every time I look at you both I don't want to have to remember what amazing friends you used to be and how its all my fault that its gone."**

"**It's not your fault," Pete shook his head. **

"**Yeah, well it's not really his either," she explained, pulling him back to her when he rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath. "We, Dunham are walking proof that you have very little control over who you fall for. I know for a fact that you didn't want to get involved with me, because you would have had the absolute shit ripped out of you for dating a 'posh bird'. And as for me, I had to put up with Jack singing 'Park Life' at the top of his lungs every time I walked into the office." Pete laughed. "By the way this was before he met you and made it his life long ambition to get you on his team," she shook her head. "But my point is that you can never tell yourself not to like someone, it doesn't work that way."**

"**So you're saying I should just fucking, what live and let die?" Pete scoffed. **

"**What's so bad about that?" Allie cried. "Would it really be that much of a disaster if for the first time in his life Pete Dunham walked away from a fight? You know God forbid you don't beat the shit out of the guy."**

"**I wasn't going to hit him," Pete frowned as she raised an eyebrow at him. **

"**So if you'd bumped into him last night," she shrugged. "You would have just, bought him a beer and chatted about football?"**

"**Alright, fair point." Pete nodded.**

"**Nothing would ever, **_**ever**_** happen between us," she promised him, keeping her eyes locked on his the entire time. "I have never wanted anyone else but you, and yes, you know what, Matt **_**is**_** a nice guy. But I don't want a nice guy…I want you."**

**Pete grinned against his will and looked up at her, raising an eyebrow. **

"**Bollocks," she muttered, waving her hand. "That came out wrong."**

**Rubbing her hands together nervously, she clasped them under her chin and looked directly at him, taking a deep breath and trying to work out the best way to go about this. **

"**You piss me off," she blurted out after a moment.**

"**Come again?" he looked at her as though she was mad.**

"**You have the ability to annoy me more than anyone else on the planet, and that includes Lara. You're messy as hell, you have horrendous taste in films, you are officially the world's loudest drunk, you repeat yourself too much when you're angry, you always have to have the last word and even on the best of days you're the most indecisive person I've ever met." She laughed at the look on his face. "But fuck it, I would sooner sell my soul to the devil than change a single thing about you. So explain to me again, why I would even consider giving all that up for a guy who's just 'nice'?"**

**Pete stared at her for a long moment, so caught up in her gaze that he barely felt her hands reach out and linked with his. How was it that even after three years this woman still had the ability to render him speechless. **

"**That was some fucking speech," Pete looked at her through narrowed eyes. **

"**Yeah, well I couldn't sleep last night so I ended up watching Love Actually." She shrugged and caught the smirk on his lips. "Kiera Knightly never had to put up with any of this shit,"**

**Unable to stop himself, Pete actually laughed shaking his head at the woman in front of him as she tried her best to maintain a serious face. They fell into a comfortable silence for a moment, both of them just staring at the other. **

"**So live and let die, eh?" Pete looked at her through hooded eyes. **

"**Do this and you don't have get me anything for Christmas," she smiled. **

**Pete stared at her for a long moment, the look in his eyes somewhere between fear, anger and frustration; the whole time Allie simply stared back at him, feeling as though she couldn't breathe. **

"**So that film comment was a bit fucking low, don't you think?" he smirked at her. "You can't throw that at me every time we have a fight just because I refused to watch fucking Bridget Jones."**

**Allie bit her lip, trying to suppress her smile before giving up and jumping into his arms which immediately wrapped around her, pulling her tighter against him. **

"_**I**_** watched Football Factory," she mumbled against his neck, loving the feel of his laughter vibrating under her lips. **

"**Yeah, but every time Danny Dyer came on screen you started fucking jabbering about his arse," Pete hoisted her up so that she was slightly above him, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck for support. **

"**Danny Dyer **_**does **_**have a nice arse," she nodded seriously. "That's not something I would joke about. I'm in the fashion industry, looking at people's arses is part of my job."**

"**Bollocks," Pete snorted. **

"**Those too, sometimes." She winked at him and then squealed at the dangerous glint he got in his eye as he tackled her to the bed. **

**Pete kissed her for the first time in two days…it had been two days without feeling her lying underneath him, without her mouth moving against his. How the fuck had he survived? It was at that very moment he remembered why they didn't fight. **

"**We're ok, aren't we?" she looked up at him with so much uncertainty in her eyes that Pete felt the familiar pain in his chest again. **

"**Always," he promised her, only giving her a few seconds to beam up at him before his lips descended once more. **

**In a way, Pete supposed that was the one good thing about fighting with someone you loved; almost losing them made you appreciate how fucking lucky you were to have them in the first place.**

**

* * *

**

**Matt stopped just short of the Abby's front door, taking a deep breath and wringing his hands together. He actually couldn't remember a time when he'd been this scared before; he had no idea how Pete was going to react, or how much Allie had told him, but a big part of him would have quite happily sold his soul to run away in that very instant. **

"**It's a door."**

**He whipped around and try to ignore the way his heart was pounding in his chest when he met Pete's eyes, the short distance between them seeming practically miniscule as he tried to get his bearings. **

"**What?" he wheezed out. **

"**Well you've been staring at the fucking thing for about five minutes so I thought I'd help you out." He snorted. "Didn't you get into Harvard for fuck sake?"**

**Matt laughed lightly, feeling a tiny bit more relaxed than he had a second ago, perhaps because a small part of his brain realised that if Pete had wanted to kill him, he would have done it by now. The air between them seemed thick and heavy, pressing down on top of them and forcing both men to search for something to say. **

"**Do you wanna grab a pint?" Pete asked him finally, shaking his head when Matt moved to walk into the pub. "I was thinking maybe somewhere a bit quieter, if that's alright with you?"**

"**Yeah," Matt nodded. "Sure."**

**Ten minutes later, they found themselves sat by the river with a pack of Fosters between them, staring out at the cold, black water having realised that the Abby was the only pub within a good five miles. **

"**I was gonna talk to you last night, but Allie told me you left," he nodded, taking a sip of beer and glancing at the smaller man out of the corner of his eye. **

"**Yeah, well I figured that maybe I'd outstayed my welcome," Matt shrugged. **

"**Was that before or after you started having feelings for my girlfriend?" **

**The question hung in the air for a rather long time, Matt wincing at the hostile tone in Pete's voice; he'd seen what happened to people who pissed Pete Dunham off and he really, really didn't want to fall into that category. **

"**Pete, it doesn't mean anything." Matt told him carefully. **

"**Do you love her?" Pete asked him outwardly. **

"**I don't know," Matt told him timidly. "I don't think so,"**

"**You don't think so?" Pete nodded slowly. "Well do you think about her all the time?"**

**Matt looked turned to look at him for the first time since they had begun talking and immediately regretted it; the fury in Pete's eyes was like wild fire, uncontrollable and frighteningly volatile. **

"**Do you wonder what it would like to touch her? To kiss her, maybe?" Despite only having taken a few sips, Pete hurled his can of beer into the river and let out a wordless shout, rubbing the back of his head and trying to ease the headache he could feel coming on. "Fuck it, Matt you're supposed to be my mate!"**

"**I am!" Matt yelled back at him. "I never," he shook his head. "I never would have even thought about doing anything…"**

"**But that's not the fucking point, is it Matt?" Pete exclaimed. "The point is you have feelings for her. The woman I'm fucking **_**marrying.**_**"**

"**Pete, it's nothing, ok?" he told him calmly. "You want me to say I had feelings for Allie? Ok, I did, but not any more."**

**It wasn't exactly the truth because there was no way that something like that would simply dissolve in 24 hours but last night with Lara he'd had some kind of…'Allie break-through'. He'd realised that he was basically wasting his time wanting something he could never have and that by carrying on like some love sick school boy, he was putting his friendships with both Allie and Pete at risk.**

"**Why does it bother you so much?" He laughed. "Allie's so in love with you…no one else even exists to her when you're in the room, so I think we can rule out the possibility of me being any kind of threat."**

"**It's not to do with her you dumb fuck, it's to do with us!" Pete slammed his hand down against the metal rails and tried not to let the pain show on his face. **

"**I trust Allie more than anyone else in the world," he explained, slightly calmer. "But you're supposed to be my mate, it's not her who fucking betrayed me, it's you."**

"**I told you nothing happened!"**

"**And you think that makes it alright?" Pete glared at him. "Matt, I let you in. I gave you somewhere to stay, I stood up for you when Bovver pissed all over you, and this is how I get my fucking thanks?" he laughed bitterly. "By finding out that the whole time you've been here, you've been thinking about Allie…"**

**Truth be told, Matt hadn't thought about it that way; even though nothing had or was ever going to happen, he had betrayed Pete just by thinking about Allie that way. **

"**Hit me," Matt told him, not really thinking about what he was saying. **

"**What?" Pete frowned, completely taken aback. **

"**Hit me," Matt nodded. "I deserve it,"**

"**Fuck off," Pete shook his head. "I'm not going to fucking slap you one just because you tell me to."**

"**I thought about kissing her," Matt told him, flinching as Pete's head shot up and his eyes darkened as they bored dangerously into his. "Yeah, you heard."**

"**Matt, I don't know what the fuck you think you're doing…" **

"**I used to think about how soft her skin looked, about how it would taste." Matt felt his chest tighten when he noticed Pete clenching his fists. **

"**Mate, I think you'd fucking best be quiet," he growled. "Before I do something we both fucking regret."**

"**Last night before you came home and she was crying, I honestly thought about just kissing her, just to see what she would do," he stepped forward, the pure adrenaline pulsing through his blood making him look a lot braver than he felt. **

"**And you know something? A part of me thinks that she would have kissed me back."**

"**Fuck you, you bastard!" Pete shouted as his fist connected with Matt's jaw, sending him spiralling backwards into the bench behind him, wincing as he fell to the ground and knocked the cans of beer onto the floor with him. **

**Pete stood above him, ignoring the all too familiar pain that was shooting through his wrist as he stared down at the man on the floor, panting angrily. To his surprise and utter confusion, Matt actually started laughing as he pulled himself to his feet, one hand cupping his jaw.**

"**What the fuck is wrong with you?" Pete shouted warily; had the Yank lost his fucking mind?**

"**I'm just proving my point," he muttered, stretching his mouth open and wincing when his jaw protested. **

"**What? That you're thick as shit?" Pete shook his head in disbelief, had he not witnessed the fact that Matt had only had about four sips of beer, he would almost swear that he was drunk. "Because funnily enough, that had occurred to me a little bit earlier."**

**Matt stared straight back at him. "How do you feel right now?"**

"**Like beating the shit out of you," Pete told him simply. **

"**Crap, in that case, I haven't proved anything." He laughed. "I thought that when you hit me, that you might feel a little relieved. Kinda like when I talked to Allie last night…hearing the words out loud made me think about how fucking stupid I'm being and about how even though I love Allie, I'm not **_**in**_** love with her." He sat back down on the bench and picking up one of the still cold cans of beer off of the floor held it soothingly against his jaw. "Unfortunately, it just took me getting fucking humiliated and then punched in the face to realise it."**

**Against the will of every cell in his body, Pete actually found himself laughing at the American sat on the bench, his face already starting to swell. There was only a handful of people in the world that would have dared speak to him like that, and he had to admit, he was pretty fucking surprised that Matt Buckner was one of them. **

"**You do realise I could have killed you just now?" Pete asked him, perching down on the bench beside him and resting his elbows on his knees. **

"**Yeah," Matt nodded. "But I think I could have at least gotten in a slap across the face before you beat me into a pulp." He smiled when Pete laughed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Pete. I mean you have to believe me, I…I just want things to go back to how they were. I mean is that at all possible?"**

**Pete rubbed his face tiredly, struggling to remember what things had been like before all this had kicked off; of course he wanted it all to go back to the way it was…if he had the choice, he'd happily erase the last 48 hours from his brain forever. He recalled the conversation he had had with Allie that morning when she had told him that we no control over our feelings. Did that mean that it was ok for Matt to feel like this? Did that mean that there was no harm in the fact that Pete was silently listing places he could hide his body? **

**Sighing, he turned to look at Matt who was still nursing his jaw, looking back at him with an equal mixture of uncertainty and determination in his eyes. **

"**Allie said you stayed with Lara last night," he narrowed his eyes. **

"**Yeah," Matt cleared his throat before continuing. "It was too late to go and see Shannon so…"**

**Pete nodded and then stood up, dusting off his jeans. **

"**In that case, you're probably in dire fucking need of a pint," he jerked his head towards the Abby. "My treat."**

**Matt looked up at him in complete shock; when he had asked was it possible for things to go back to the way they used to be, he was expecting to get laughed at, or maybe even hit again…but this, he hadn't seen this coming from a mile off.**

**Standing up on slightly shaky legs, Matt stumbled after him removing his hand from his jaw and deciding that he would put up with the pain in silence. **

"**Sorry about the uh," Pete pointed to his own jaw and Matt smiled faintly, shaking his head. **

"**Its fine," he laughed. "I was expecting a lot worse, believe me." He stopped walking for a moment and watched as Pete turned towards him, obviously realising that Matt was no longer beside him. **

"**I'm really sorry, Pete." He told him earnestly. **

"**I know you are," Pete nodded, regarding him seriously for a second. "And even though I know this is the part where I'm supposed to say that everything's fine," he shook his head. "I can't mate, because its not. Far fucking from it actually, but I trust Allie, and she trusts you, so…" he shrugged. "Let's just be grown ups and ignore it ever happened, yeah?"**

**Matt nodded slowly, unable to help the smile that stretched across his face. **

"**Now," Pete rubbed his hands together and winked at Matt. "Get in here you tart, and start fucking talking, because if you expect me to believe that you spent the night with Lara having a cosy little chat and doing each other's hair, you've got another fucking thing coming."**

**Matt laughed and followed him through the doors, the usual warmth and noise of the pub welcoming them in from the bitter wind outside. **

**Matt wasn't stupid, he knew that he had lost a substantial amount of Pete's trust, but he would gain it back, no matter what it took. **


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Aaah! Its a giant chapter! My sister pointed out after reading the last few that its getting a more OC that in is GSE so I'm going back to my old school ways after this as the next ch will be taking off right after the fight up in Manchester and yes, there will be blood...but don't worry I love writing the Pete/Allie love stuff to completely turn my back on it! I am the review monster: feed me:D **

"**I still can't believe you called in sick," Allie laughed, running her fingertips across the back of Pete's shoulders as he kissed his way achingly slowly across her collar bone and moaning when he pulled on her hair gently to tilt her head back, giving him access to her throat.After spending an hour talking the whole Matt issue to death, they'd realised that there was something much more beneficial they could do with their time. Three hours later however, and Allie could feel the fatigue sweeping through her body. **

_**Damn athletes and their stamina, **_**she thought with a giggle as Pete reached up and covered her mouth with his. **

"**Benjamin said he'll cover," he mumbled, sucking her bottom lip into his mouth and smirking when her fingernails dragged across his skin. Although it hadn't escaped his thoughts that after telling the school he thought he had food poisoning, he would have to try and figure out a way of explaining the colossal love bite on his neck that hadn't been there 48 hours ago. **

"**And besides," he ran his tongue down her neck, tasting the saltiness of the quickly drying sweat on her skin mixed with the vanilla and cinnamon smell that was solely Allie. "I've got better things to do with my time today than fucking yammer on about World War II."**

**Shifting so that they were lying on their sides facing each other, Pete let one hand drift down to rest on her hip, the other one gently cradling her head as he continued to kiss her for all he was worth, his body more than ready for the next round. **

"**I love you," she whispered, tugging playfully at his bottom lip before sucking it into her mouth. **

**Pete felt his heart tighten at the words; she said them so easily, as though it was nothing but fact. She loved him. Even after three years, it was something that he would never get over. **

"**I love you," he told her, feeling her smile before kissing his way down to her chest, his hands moving that little bit further south…**

"**Holy shit!" she cried and Pete pulled away quickly, afraid that he had hurt her somehow but she shook her head, instead pointing to his shoulder. Glancing down he laughed at the horror on her face. There on his left shoulder was a rather impressive bite mark. **

"**I did that to you?" Allie whispered, reaching out to run her fingers over it and then remembering the moment that had caused her to put it there. Blushing deeply, she buried her face in his shoulder and laughed. **

"**You look like you've been mauled," she told him, eyeing the scratch marks on his back.**

"**Yeah, well I wouldn't feel too bad," Pete told her, pulling away from her slightly and gesturing to her body. Allie gasped at the sight of the various love bites strewn about her body, seeing her response, Pete chose not to point out the huge one on her neck. **

"**We got a little intense," Pete smirked as the memory of how each and every one of those marks came to be on her body rushed back to him.**

"**Intense?" Allie laughed. "Pete, it looks like you could do a dot-to-dot on my abdomen,"**

"**Hhmm," Pete quirked an eye brow before pulling the covers down and doing just that with his fingers. Allie closed her eyes, sighing happily as Pete placed a soft kiss next to her bellybutton, letting her hands trace over the tattoo in between his shoulder blades as he gently ran his tongue along the lines of the small lady bird tattoo on her hip. **

**Suddenly, her phone started ringing from somewhere in the room and she giggled at the ticklish sensation of Pete laughing against her skin as **_**'Like a Virgin' **_**blared out from her handbag. **

"**Fucking Lara," she muttered under her breath and pulling herself up into a sitting position only to be stopped when Pete pulled her on top of him so that he was sat on his knees with her in his lap straddling him. His mouth was on hers and his hands were moving too quickly, turning her into a weak, whimpering pile of jelly in his arms. **

"**I need you," he growled against her lips and Allie felt her heart start pounding and groaned as she felt his tongue pressing hard against her mouth, demanding entry. She wanted nothing more than to fall back onto the bed and scream at him that he could do whatever the hell he wanted with her, but the incessant shrieking of Madonna echoing around the room was telling her now was not the time. **

**Proving once and for all to Allie Harding that God did indeed exist, the room descended into silence again and she barely had time to breathe as Pete pinned her back down to the bed, groaning her name when she pushed her hips up into his…only to be interrupted again.**

"**Are you having a fucking laugh?" Pete growled, pulling away from her and glaring at the house phone on his bedside table that had started to ring. **

"**You have an answering machine," Allie muttered, pulling him back down to her and catching the satisfied smirk on his face. From day one of their relationship, Allie had had the power to turn him into a sweating, shaking lust ridden mess in a matter of seconds, so on the occasion that the tables turned, Pete had a lot of fun. **

"**Allie!" **

**They both turned and looked at the answering machine, frowning at Lara's voice which was coming out in a harsh whisper. **

"**Stop shagging Pete and call me back…I did something royally fucking stupid last night and..." there was a slight crash in the background. "Bollocks! There goes my coffee…Look anyway, just please…once you're…done with Pete, please call me back." There was a slight pause. "And by the way Harding, I know I'm not your mother and I know you like playing the whole honorary orphan card, but an 'I'm-not-dead-or-wanted-for-murder-for-killing-my-boyfriend' phone call would never go amiss, ok? Call me back, I love you."**

**Allie laughed as Pete buried his face in her shoulder. **

"**Are we seriously going to let that thing make a speech at out wedding?" he mumbled. **

"**We'll just switch off her mic and dub over her," Allie told him, playfully biting his earlobe and smiling up at him when he raised his head to look at her. "She'll never know a thing,"**

"**Do you really need to call her back right now?" Pete asked her, pinning her hands above her head and keeping them there. **

"**No," Allie shook her head, butterflies breaking out in her stomach in anticipation of what was coming. **

"**That's my girl," Pete whispered, before crushing her mouth beneath his****Tightening her hands on his, Allie kissed him back with everything she had in her, ignoring the hunger pangs in her stomach, having not eaten anything since yesterday afternoon. Some things were more important than food; like the feel of his tongue brushing against hers, his body pressing down on top of hers, so close that Allie swore there wasn't a millimetre of space left between them. There was too much passion, the way his mouth was moving on hers was driving her to the brink of insanity, making her want to scream at him to hurry up and ease the ache that was building within her body. **

"**Hhmm, Pete," she sighed, gripping his hands which were still pinning hers above her head tighter as he kissed his way under her chin and down the column of her throat. "Pete, oh God, Pete…"**

"**PETE!" **

**Allie's eyes snapped open, following her boyfriend's extremely pissed off glare at the bedroom door where the shout had just come from. **

"**Lazy bastard must still be in bed," Swill's laugh carried down the hall and into the bedroom, swiftly followed by footsteps. "Oi," Both Allie and Pete flinched at the loud bang on the door.**

"**Just open it," Pete frowned at his brother's voice for a moment, then it registered what he had said. **

**Out of the corner of her eye, Allie saw the door handle move slightly and felt her stomach drop. Oh. Dear. God. **

"**Pete," she pushed at his shoulder, ignoring the look he gave her as he was forced away from her more than tempting skin. "The door,"**

"**Is he in there?" he heard Steve call from right outside the door, freezing when it clicked open about an inch. Bolting up from the bed, Pete slammed against it, flipping down the lock. **

"**Fucking hell!" Swill shouted. "You almost ripped my fucking fingers off!"**

"**Well what the fuck were you doing coming into my bedroom?" Pete yelled back. "I'm getting dressed you twat, I'll be out in a second,"**

"**Alright, fine, Christ, you're a right miserable fuck in the morning," Swill called back to him. "But just for that, I'm eating the leftover cake in your fridge."**

**Shaking his head as he listened to the footsteps move back down the hall, Pete turned to look at Allie who was sitting against the headboard, the covers tucked up under her arms, laughing. **

"**I think that's our queue to get up," she muttered, chucking Pete's boxers at his head and giggling. Glancing at the clock, she gasped. "Fucking hell, Pete it's almost 2!" she laughed. No wonder people were banging on the door, it was probably to check that they were still alive. Pulling on a clean pair of underwear and bra, she reached for her jeans and a white vest top, catching her reflection in the mirror and laughing before reaching for her gold scarf and tying it around her neck, concealing the various marks Pete had left there. Great, she thought with a sigh, another week of wearing turtle necks. **

**Making her way towards the bedroom door, she frowned when Pete grabbed her hand and swung her towards him, keeping her hand locked in his while the other one reached up, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. **

"**Morning," he grinned down at her. **

"**Morning," she laughed. **

"**So promise me that we'll never fight like that again," he looked at her seriously. "Next time I start acting like a wanker, you have the right to chuck the heaviest fucking thing you can find at my head."**

"**Will do," she grinned, pulling him closer by the material of his sweater and standing on her tip toes, kissing him deeply. "But for now, I need some food."**

"**Yeah well lucky for you, I stopped Ned eating those weird save the forest bars you keep bloody raving about," he smirked at her. **

"**Sod that," she laughed. "I need coco pops," she groaned. "Or bacon…how about we go out for breakfast," she glanced at the clock again. "Lunch…whatever the fuck it is,"**

"**Sounds good to me," he winked. "But you, uh, you might want a jacket," **

"**Why?" Allie frowned, from what she could see it looked like a fairly sunny day, the first hint of spring creeping in and ridding London of its usually dreariness. **

"**Because the scarf only covers your neck," he grinned, leaning down and pressing an open mouthed kiss against her shoulder before pulling open the bedroom door and leaving her standing there staring in the mirror at the impressive collection of miniature love bites she had on her arms. **

"**Bastard," she muttered under her breath as she yanked her grey hooded sweat shirt out of the closet and pulled it on before following him into the hallway which led to the living room. Walking into the room Allie laughed when she saw Swill sat at the breakfast counter and devouring the entire tin of chocolate cake that she had brought over when one of the designers at Vogue had a hissy fit because something containing more than four calories was within a mile radius of them. **

"**Ha!" he laughed, pointing his fork at Steve. "Told you she was in there, now pay up you bastard."**

"**So you're alive then?" Steve walked over to where Pete was leaning against the back of the sofa and threw a five pound note at Swill who grinned. "I've been calling you all day, what the fuck were you doing?"**

**Seeing Allie's blush from where she was stood making herself a cup of coffee and pretending not to listen, Steve decided it would be best to avoid that question. **

"**What's wrong with you?" Pete frowned. **

"**I wake up at 7.30," Steve told him, folding his arms. "Walk into my kitchen and see Matt asleep in one of the kitchen chairs with his shit all over the floor and a bruise the size of fucking Texas on his chin." He shook his head and grinned faintly. "Why do I get the feeling that you've got something to do with it?"**

"**What's he said?" Pete jerked his chin up, already feeling defensive. **

"**That he got mugged on the tube," Steve snorted. "Funnily enough though, he's still got his cards and his wallet and everything else that a mugger would usually snatch." He leant forward. "So little brother, are you gonna tell me what the hells going on or am I gonna have to guess?"**

"**Pete, can I watch Jeremy Kyle?" Swill called, picking up the half eaten cake and pushing his way over to the sofa with it. **

"**Why the fuck are you here exactly?" Pete laughed, looking down at him. **

"**I heard about you bitch slapping Matt the other night so Dave sent me over to see what's what," **

**Steve started laughing and shaking his head.**

"**I fucking knew it," he muttered. **

"**You punched Matt?" Allie piped up, placing her palms flat on the surface of the counter as she stared at her boyfriend. **

"**To be fair, the yank told him to do it," Swill added, shovelling more cake into his mouth. "Some bollocks about it making them even because Pete found out that he wanted a bit of Allie."**

**Dropping her head onto the counter with a thud, Allie didn't know whether to laugh or cry as she looked up at Swill whose eyes suddenly widened when it dawned on him what he had said. **

"**Aw, shit," he shook his head. "I wasn't supposed to say any of that out loud, was I?" he asked Pete who responded by slapping him hard around the back of the head. **

"**Pete, what's going on?" Steve glanced at Allie who was muttering something under her breath as she stirred her coffee. "Tell me it wasn't you that smacked him one,"**

"**Did you not hear the reason why?" he shouted, pointing at Swill. **

"**Yeah," Steve nodded. "And? What of it you silly prick? Matt's the size of your fucking foot! What did you think he was going to do?" he sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Look, the point is that Shannon has been jumping down my throat every five minutes about him, so just…sort it out, will you?" he picked up his brief case and smirked. "Because from what I hear, you of all people should know what a pain in the nuts it is when your Missus has a bug up her arse."**

**Walking over to the counter, Steve touched Allie's arm and kissed her quickly on the cheek. She turned to look at him and her bright green eyes met his; it still astounded Steve how this beautiful girl who seemed to be the complete opposite of his brother had managed to get such a hold on him. Glancing down at her engagement ring, he fought the urge to laugh; he'd seen that coming from day one. He'd often wondered when Pete first started talking about Allie what kind of girl had the power to turn his brother into a stuttering, love sick mess, but then when he met her, it had all fallen into place. You had to be made of stone not to fall in love with a girl like Allie Harding. **

"**Don't be too hard on him," he whispered, the smile evident in his voice. "I know he's a complete fuckwit, but its all part of the infamous Dunham charm. And come over soon, Ben and Shannon are missing you like crazy."**

**Winking at her as she laughed, Steve gave them one last wave before stepping out of the flat and letting the door stay open behind him. **

"**Swill!" he shouted. **

"**Yeah?" the man in question shot back, his eyes glued to the screen and his mouth stuffed with cake. **

"**Do you want a fucking lift home or not?" **

**Leaping off of the sofa, Swill grinned at Pete and Allie, placing the fork back on the counter but keeping the cake in his grasp. **

"**Come down the Abby later tonight, yeah?" he looked at Pete who nodded back at him. "Nice," he winked. "Cheers for the cake."**

**The door shut and they stood there in silence for a moment, Pete looking anywhere but back at her, wincing when he could feel her eyes on him. **

"**Live and let die, huh?" she shook her head.**

"**He taunted me," Pete shot at her, silently stacking up all the excuses he could think of. Looking towards her, he raised his eyebrows when he saw she was laughing. **

"**You only hit him?" she bit her lip, trying hard not to laugh. "How much self control did it take not to kill him?"**

"**I should be made into a fucking saint," he snorted, then looked at her seriously. "I would never hurt him like that…"**

"**Pete," Allie shook her head, coming to stand in front of him and resting her hands against his chest. "I know you wouldn't, ok? I know how much Matt means to you," she shrugged. "Its one of the reasons I fell in love with you was because whether you know it or not, you have a stupidly big heart." She slapped her hands against his chest and grinned. "Right now, we need food. You want to go eat at mine?" she grabbed her back and pulled on her ballet pumps. "Harry's home which means the fridge will be jam packed with artery clogging shit."**

"**I'm sold," Pete told her, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the door. **

**Stepping out onto the street, Pete practically started drooling when he saw the familiar silver Porsche Carrera parked outside. He remembered the first time he'd ever gone to Allie's house and had seen it outside, then proceeded to have a mild heart attack when she informed him that it was hers. **

"**Dunham," she called and he looked up, barely catching the keys before they hit his chest. **

"**You're fucking joking?" he grinned at her like an excited school boy. **

"**For every scratch I find, I'm taking one of your fingers," she winked at him before climbing in the passenger side and laughing when she actually saw him jumping up and down through the window before getting into the car and running his hands over the steering wheel. It wasn't as though this was the first time he'd driven it, but when your main source of transportation was a VW Golf that you bought second hand three years ago, it was easy to get excited. **

**Starting the engine, Pete took a moment to listen to it grinning when he noticed there wasn't the endless stuttering he heard when he started up his own car. Glancing at the maroon bug behind him, he almost felt like he was betraying it, flaunting his affair right in front of her eyes. **

"**And in sports news extra policing has been commissioned for the long awaited United away game this Saturday, where West Ham United will meet Manchester United at Old Trafford for a 3pm kick off. The violence surrounding last month's match between United and Millwall has served as a reminder to the London Metropolitan that football hooliganism is once again on the up rise and police chief David Luther had this to say on the matter…"**

**Pete leant over and switched off the radio, casting a glance at Allie who was fiddling with her seatbelt. Sighing, he gently rested his hand on her leg, pulling her attention away from the buckle. He had told her earlier in the week that he was seeing Steve on Saturday and while he wanted to be honest with her, he didn't want her worrying over him either. **

"**Babe, I'm sorry," he winced. How many times had he said that in the last 72 hours? **

"**You honestly think I didn't know?" she shook her head at him, a small smile on her lips. "Pete, you do know I can read, right?" she held up the newspaper that had been on the floor. **

"**Bollocks," Pete smirked. "Here I was hoping you were just a pretty face."**

**Allie laughed quietly and then leant in, kissing him gently. **

"**Just be careful," she warned him, rubbing her thumb over his cheek. "I know that you're going to go no matter what I say, but just," she closed her eyes for a second. "Just promise me that you'll be careful. The last time was bad enough."**

**Pete grimaced, remembering the last match he had gone to where a member of the Chelsea firm had knocked him onto some broken glass; he would never be able to forget the tears in Allie's eyes as she stood in front of him, gently picking the pieces of bloodied glass out of his chest.**

"**I'll be alright," he smirked at her. "You know me,"**

"**Yeah I do," she nodded. Which meant she knew how pig headed he could be when it came to his pride, he would never walk away from a fight, especially not with Manchester. With the little knowledge Allie actually had of the sport, she was aware that Manchester United and West Ham were far from being best mates. Frowning, she tried to remember whether she had used up all of the TCP last time she cleaned him up; glancing down at the newspaper in her lap, she decided it would probably be safer to just buy another bottle. **

"**How much did this thing cost again?" Pete gestured to the steering wheel, trying to get her mind of the subject of Saturday. Watching as she laughed, he knew he's succeeded, if only for the moment. **

"**You know I think they're doing a buy one get one free on them at the moment," she smirked. "You and Bov could get matching ones."**

**Laughing, Pete put the car in gear and pulled away from the curb, reaching out to blindly take her hand as they drove towards her house.**

**

* * *

**

"**Hello?" Allie called as she stepped into the foyer, dropping her keys on the small table beside the door. Walking in behind her, Pete shook his head; the size of this house never ceased to amaze him from the stair case which curved around the room to the huge crystal chandelier hanging above their heads, Pete dreaded to think what this place would sell for.**

"**I don't think anybody's home," Allie told him, her laughter echoing through the hall when Pete's arms wrapped around her from behind and he pulled her scarf to one side, grinning with male pride when he saw the large red mark come into view. "I thought you were hungry," she teased as he kissed her neck. **

"**I am," he scraped his teeth across her skin and felt her shiver. "But I'm an athlete; we like to work up an appetite." **

**Allie laughed when his hands crept around to her front and he began unbuttoning her shirt, growling when it seemed to get caught. **

"**Since when did you get so impatient?" she whispered as he pulled her around to face him and grinned. **

"**When did you start wearing so many fucking clothes?" he muttered against her lips, feeling her smile as his hands ran up the back of her shirt. **

"**Oh, Jesus Christ!"**

**The couple immediately pulled apart and stared at Harry who had emerged from the kitchen wearing only a white t-shirt and his boxers; his dark hair flung in all directions, one hand covering his eyes while the other one held on to a plate of toast like it was his life line. **

"**Have you just woken up?" Allie frowned at him. **

"**Yeah, but I would have stayed in bed had I known it was amateur porn day at the Harding household." He grumbled, taking a huge bite of toast. **

"**Aw, is someone bitter?" Allie asked him in a baby voice as she walked towards the kitchen with Pete, both of them stealing a piece of toast off of his plate as they went. **

"**Oi, fuck off!" he snapped, pulling the plate out of their reach. "You'd be bitter too if you had to listen to Lara and her latest man-whore doing the no pants dance for about 7 hours last night."**

**Pete laughed as he took a seat at the colossal breakfast bar, grabbing a mug and filling it with the freshly made coffee Harry had brewed. He watched as Allie began pulling things out of the double fridge, piling the sausages, bacon, eggs and mushrooms next to the Aga cooker and already feeling his mouth starting to water at the promise of food. **

"**You sure you're pissed off?" Pete narrowed his eyes at the young man who had come to sit opposite him. "Not jealous?"**

"**You're a nob," Harry told him simply, before craning his next back to look at his sister. "Can I get in on that?" he asked gesturing to the food. **

"**You just had toast." She told him, breaking some eggs into a bowl and whisking them. **

"**Yeah, and you two ate half of it. Now make me an omelette or I'll scream." he picked up a grape and threw it at the back of her head, grinning when she muttered something distinctly un-lady like under her breath and reached for the mushrooms. **

"**So who's the bloke?" Pete asked. Having known Lara as long as he had known Allie, he had become pretty protective of the smart arsed red head, having never had a sister, Pete was sure that Lara was the closest he would get. **

"**Don't know," Harry shook his head. "She hasn't come downstairs yet so I figure we'll get to meet him then."**

"**My first guess would have been you," Allie glanced back at her brother who narrowed his green eyes back at her. Growing up, so many people had suspected that Harry and Allie were twins, not so much because of their looks-the only thing they had in common on that front was that they had both inherited their mothers green eyes- but in the sense that sometimes their responses were so similar is was often scary. **

"**Me?" he laughed. "Yeah right,"**

"**Oh so you don't like her then?" Allie teased. **

"**Loudmouth Lara?" he scoffed. "Hardly; I am not about to become a one woman man, and if I do ever befall that heinous fate, it won't be with her."**

"**Oh please, you've had a thing for her since we were 14 and you saw her in a bikini for the first time. You spent the entire day following her around like a puppy." Allie shot back at him and making Pete laugh.**

"**Oh yeah?" Harry looked at Pete. "Laugh it up, pretty boy. But you're more whipped than anyone else I know," he batted his eyelids and put on a high pitched voice. "'Oh, Allie I love you…Allie, marry me…Allie, you're so amazing.'"**

**Pete raised his eyebrows and sent the man a tight lipped smile as he picked up a pineapple from the fruit bowl and examined it. **

"**You better start thinking up some fucking good excuses to feed the nurses in A&E when you go there with this shoved up your arse." Pete told him, tossing the fruit threateningly. **

"**See now I would be shitting my pants right now if I thought there was a genuine chance that you could get far out enough from under my sisters thumb to actually do it." Harry winked at him. **

"**Prick," Pete laughed.**

"**Bitch,"**

"**Twat,"**

"**Moron,"**

"**Wanker,"**

"**Commoner,"**

**Pete glared at him menacingly before jumping up off of his stool and chasing Harry around the breakfast bar, shoving the slightly older bloke forward and then getting him in a headlock, laughing loudly when Harry proceeded to slap his hands. **

"**Baby, put him down," Allie turned and looked at Pete shaking her head and popping a slice of red pepper into her mouth. "You don't know where he's been."**

"**Yeah, **_**baby," **_**Harry laughed then twisted Pete's wrist. "How'd you like me now, Dunham?"**

"**I'd squeeze your neck a bit harder, but I don't want to make you cry," Pete smirked. "Can't have you smudging your mascara now, can we?"**

"**You absolute fu…"**

"**Morning!" **

**Both men looked up and quickly let go of each other as Lara practically skipped into the kitchen, her hair which appeared to be still wet from the shower hanging loosely around the shoulders of her navy blue Moschino dress shirt. **

"**Wow," she paused behind Allie and kissed her friend on the cheek. "Something smells really good."**

"**Yeah, it's um, its omelette," Allie told her. "Are you ok?"**

"**Me?" Lara raised her eyebrows as she peered out from behind the door of the fridge, pulling out a bottle of water and taking a long sip. "I'm fine, why?"**

"**No reason," Allie laughed at her. "You just seem really-…"**

"**So where is he then?" Harry asked her, standing up next to Pete and straightening his shirt. **

"**Who?" Lara asked, taking a long sip of water and stealing a baby tomato from beside Allie. **

"**What do you mean, 'who'?" Harry looked at her sceptically. "I'm talking about the bloke who put that scary clown like grin on your face."**

"**Oh," she blushed and looked down at her feet. **

**Wait a second, Lara was **_**blushing? **_**Lara Knight, the long lost fifth member of the Sex and the City cast was blushing over the mere mention of a man? Allie leant against the counter and grinned. Oh, this had to be good. **

"**Hey guys,"**

**At the sound of the all too familiar voice, Pete muttered 'you must be having a bubble,' Harry practically growled and Allie actually dropped the whisk she was holding as all four pairs of eyes rested on Matt Buckner. **

"**Hey," Lara grinned at him. "Allie's making lunch, do you fancy sticking around?" **

"**Yeah, that'd be great," he nodded. "Is that ok with you, Allie?"**

**Allie stared at him for a long moment, trying to work out whether or not this was a big elaborate joke. Matt and Lara? When the hell had that happened?**

"**Allie?" Lara tried again. **

"**What?" the blonde blinked, pushing her hair out of her eyes and realising she'd just been staring for about a minute. "Oh, food, yeah of course." She smiled. "You're ok with having sex?" Pete looked at her with wide eyes and tried to cough to cover his laughter as she cringed. "**_**Eggs," **_**she corrected herself with a nervous laugh. "You guys are ok with having **_**eggs**_** aren't you?"**

"**You're an angel." Lara told her, playfully slapping her butt as she made her way out of the kitchen. "I'm just going to dry my hair, I'll be down in a sec."**

**Matt watched as she left and then turned back to the trio still staring at him. Pete and Allie looked as though they were about to piss themselves laughing, while Harry…Harry looked as though he was about to kill him. Jesus, wasn't there a girl in the entire of the UK who he could have feelings for without the risk of being beaten to a pulp?**

"**So…" Pete leant back against the counter and smirked at the American. "How are we?"**

"**Fine," Matt nodded, pulling nervously at his shirt. "Shannon just called; she said that Steve had been round to see you…"**

"**Water under the bridge mate," Pete told him, waving a hand dismissively and picking up his own bottle of orange juice. "Besides, it looks like you've got your hands full," he grinned and walked over to where Allie was still staring and picked up the whisk which had fallen to the floor, laughing as quietly as he could with his back turned to Matt. **

"**Is this a joke?" Allie asked him, clapping a hand over her mouth to contain her own laughter. "Tell me this is a sick, sick joke."**

**Pete grinned and shook his head; to be honest, he wasn't particularly sure what was going on either, but he was too caught up in the thought that now Matt was with someone else, he wouldn't be all over Allie to do anything but laugh. **

**Suddenly the house phone rang and Allie pulled away from Pete for a second, walking over to where the phone was hung on the wall underneath the flat screen that Harry had insisted on having in the kitchen when it apparently became too much of a task to walk the 15second distance across the hall to the living room. **

"**Hello?"**

"**Pretend it's a call centre."**

**Allie frowned at Lara's voice hissing down the phone and looked at Pete who raised his eyebrows at her, mouthing 'alright?'. Shaking her head, Allie shrugged. **

"**Um, I'm sorry he's not actually here at the moment, can I take a message?" **

"**Good girl," Lara told her. "Now get upstairs as fast as you can, because I seriously, seriously need to talk to you."**

**The line went dead and Allie smiled, still playing along. **

"**Ok, that's great thank you, bye,"**

**Placing the phone back in its cradle, she made her way over to Pete and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind, kissing his ear. **

"**Lara?" Pete whispered, shoving a couple of grapes into his mouth and grinning. **

"**How'd you guess?" Allie whispered, nibbling on his earlobe. "Do you mind taking over the stove while I go play whore's advocate?"**

**Pete laughed and turned, kissing her quickly on the lips and then pushing her towards the door. **

"**Go," he winked at her as she disappeared around the corner. Making her way up the grand staircase, Allie walked down the hallway to Lara's room which had formerly been one of the two guest rooms and pushed the door open. The red head was stood outside on her balcony, leaning on the railings with her newly dried hair cloaking her face. **

"**Knock, knock," Allie called softly and immediately Lara spun around, a relieved grin on her face. **

"**Thank fuck, I thought it was…"**

"**Matt?" Allie screeched, shutting the door so that no one would hear them. "Are you insane?"**

"**Yes, Allie," she shot back sarcastically. "I'm insane, so just put me in a straight jacket and take me to fucking asylum." She fell backward onto her bed and draped an arm over her face. "And tell them I want a purple padded cell, I don't like any of that white bollocks, it's all too 2003."**

**Laughing, Allie lay down on the bed next to her just like they used to when they were little and they stared up at the lilac ceiling in silence for a moment. **

"**It just…happened." Lara told her with a sigh. **

"**Well, that's not necessarily a bad thing is it?" Allie asked her. "When you first met Matt you said he was fit."**

"**Allie," Lara shook her head. "I'm not you, ok? The last guy you found fit gave you this," she held her hand and pointed to the engagement ring. "The last guy I found fit gave me my cab fair home being the gentleman he was."**

**Turning to look at her best friend of fifteen years, Lara grinned and pulled the scarf down revealing the impressive collection of marks on Allie's skin. **

"**Hey!" she protested, yanking the material back up. **

"**Nice," Lara smirked at her, her deep chocolate eyes twinkling mischievisouly. **

"**I take it you guys made up then?"**

"**Yes," Allie told her, rolling her eyes. **

"**How many times?"**

"**Lara!" Allie shrieked, slapping her arm playfully. **

"**What?" she asked, her eyes wide as she feigned innocence. "I'm the best friend, I'm entitled to know these things. And besides how can I **_**not **_**be interested? Just look at the two of you…I bet your sex life is like something out of a David Attenborough documentary,"**

**Allie creased up once again, reaching up to wipe away the tears of laughter that were stinging her eyes. Even after everything they had been through, the woman still managed to shock her occasionally. After a few minutes when both of them had finally stopped giggling, Allie reached down and took Lara's hand. **

"**So this is the part where we stop pretending to be in the Breakfast Club and you explain why Matt Buckner is currently walking around like the Cheshire cat,"**

"**Fuck, I don't know!" Lara cried, covering her face with her free hand. "One minute we're talking…about you of all bloody things and the next minute he's kissing me and then…" she shook her head. "I've fucked up so badly."**

"**Lara, I'm sure once you talk to Matt…"**

"**I don't mean with Matt!" Lara stood up quickly and dropped her head into her hands. "I mean I've fucked up with Harry." **

**The words came out slightly muffled by her hands, but Allie heard them as clear as day. **

"**Whoa," she laughed, sitting up beside her and staring at the side of Lara's head. "You…" she cleared her throat. "**_**You like**__**Harry?" **_**she almost squeaked the last part out. "Harry Harding? As in my brother? The scruffy, unkempt man-boy who calls you Loudmouth and used to chase us around the house dressed as Freddy Krueger?"**

"**That would be the one," Lara laughed sadly, rubbing her face with her hands and looking at Allie sadly. "I know I should have told you sooner, but with everything going on with Pete, I thought…"**

"**Lara," she touched her face gently. "You stupid arse," **

**It was said with such affection that the red head's eyes slowly began to fill with tears before she dropped her head onto Allie's shoulder.**

"**We'll fix it, ok?" Allie told her, gently stroking her hair. "I promise."**

**Looking over the top of Lara's head and out the window, Allie was struck by the memory of her 22 year old self sitting on this very bed the night before Lara's birthday party three years ago –the night she had met Pete-, pulling at her strapless black Chanel dress and complaining that her life was boring. **

**She wanted to go back to that moment and slap herself. Hard. **

**Because here she was three years later comforting her best friend Lara who despite being in love with Allie's brother Harry had just slept with Pete's best mate Matt who up until all of 72 hours ago had claimed he had feelings for Allie who was also having to worry about the fact that said fiancé Pete was going to a football game up north this weekend where he would undoubtedly get embroiled in a fight and risk either getting arrested or doing himself some serious damage. **

_**Fuck…**_**she thought **_**at least I can never again bitch that my life is boring…**_


	27. Chapter 27

"**Is it broken?" Matt winced when Pete reached up and pinched the bridge of his still bleeding nose. **

"**No," he shook his head. "Because if it was, trust me when I say that you'd be on the fucking floor crying like a girl when I did that,"**

**Having just returned home from Manchester, the boys had resigned themselves to sitting in the Abby for the afternoon, nursing their wounds. Reaching up and feeling the wet, jagged cut on his head, Pete was more than aware that compared to Dave who had split his eyebrow and Matt who had been hit in the face with a road sign, he and the rest of the boys had gotten off pretty lightly. **

"**That was a pretty fucking impressive stunt you pulled," Dave nodded at Matt who was trying to drink his pint without letting the glass touch his nose. "Think you may have saved our arses,"**

**Matt smiled sheepishly at him, not sure if he was joking or not, it was always hard to tell with these guys. **

"**Oi," Bovver staggered over to the table, the bruised skin around his eyes making him look almost demonic. "You'll never guess what I just heard," he perched down on one of the stools, addressing the whole table, but looking solely at Pete. "Remember Dean Boxall?"**

"**The 'orrible little Zulu bastard?" Ike jerked his head up. "What of him?"**

"**Apparently, the Zulu's just got wind of what happened today and they're shitting a brick," he grinned. "Same with every other firm within a fucking mile," **

"**Well, they best say their fucking prayers for when they do the draw next month," Keith muttered and all the boys around the table nodded, no one saying it but all of them both hoping and fearing that they might be drawn with Millwall. It was an old score, but it needed to be settled.**

"**Shit me, what happened to you lot?" Terry asked, picking up some of their empty glasses and raising an eyebrow at Pete. Having grown up with Steve, Terry had been something of a surrogate older brother to him, and even now that he was the head of the firm, Terry still looked over Pete's shoulder once in a while. **

"**It was Hammers-United today, wasn't it?" he smirked and shook his head, glad he had given all that shit up with Steve. They were too old and it was too dangerous. "Next rounds on me, boys," he clapped Pete on the shoulder and walked away from the table. **

"**I'm heading home after the next one," Dave announced, stretching his arms out in front of him and frowning at the dried blood on his pilot's shirt. They only gave you so many of the fucking things and he had a feeling that his boss suspected his was flogging them on eBay or something, the rate he kept asking for more. "I told you boys, I'm getting too old for this,"**

"**Yeah, I fucking noticed," Ike laughed. "What's this?" he started slapping at the air.**

"**That's my fucking Jackie Chan punch, son," Dave told him seriously. "Did you not see the bloke? He went down like a sack of shit,"**

"**Yeah, but you **_**slapped**_** him," Swill shook his head. "GSE don't equal PMS,"**

**The boys all started pissing themselves, relaxing as the banter was thrown about the table, the kind that could only be found amongst the oldest and closest of friends. Pete was laughing at something Ike had said when he felt his phone buzzing in his pocket, fumbling around, he finally located it and held it up to his face trying to decipher what was written on the screen in his beer and injury induced daze. **

_**MESSAGE 1: ALLIE.**_

**Flipping the phone open, he grinned as he placed his pint back on the table tilting the phone more towards him so that none of the other boys could see. **

_**Still alive then? I hear you guys won, so I'm guessing you're in the A? I'm at Shannon's at the moment, be over yours later. Missed you last night, so you'll have to make it up to me. xxx **_

**Feeling more than a little pleased with himself, Pete flipped the phone shut and dropped it onto the table, careful to avoid the puddle of beer from when Ike had got a little too excited and knocked the table. **

"**Hey boys," Lucy one of the only female members of staff Terry had bothered hiring walked past the table and smiled at the lads. Usually a girl that looked like her would be harassed to the ends of the earth in a place like this, but being Ike's baby sister, she was treated like gold. "I hear you won?" she raised an eyebrow, picking up Pete's empty pint glass and then gesturing for Keith to pass her his. **

"**Yeah," Ike nodded. "Kicked the shit out of the Reds as well," **

"**Mum will be so proud," Lucy rolled her eyes and turned to Pete. "No Allie tonight?" she asked him, leaning on the back of Bovver's chair. **

"**Nah," Pete shook his head. "I'm seeing her later,"**

"**Tell her I said 'hi'," Lucy smiled, pushing herself upright again and strolling over to the bar where Terry winked at her and gratefully accepted the glasses she was holding. **

"**Mate, your little sister's growing up pretty nicely," Swill grinned. **

"**I'm gonna hurt you when you least expect it," Ike muttered, not looking up from his newspaper. **

"**Nah, I'm serious," Swill laughed when Ike flipped him the finger. **

"**Speaking of beautiful ladies," Dave ignored the hand gesture Ike threw his way and instead turned to grin at Matt. "I hear you had yourself a bit of session with Lara,"**

**Matt glared at Pete who leant back in his chair and held up his hands defensively.**

"**Mate, I didn't say a fucking word," he laughed. **

"**Some come on," Dave grinned. "Did you or didn't you?"**

"**It was…" he looked up at all the eager faces staring at him and waiting for a reply. "It was nothing, look I don't really want to get into it,"**

"**You have to tell us," Swill piped up. "We're your mates,"**

"**Then how come you never ask Pete about Allie?" Matt shot back at them. **

"**Because they value their safety," Pete told him, giving him a look that told him to back the hell off of that subject **_**now. **_

"**Look," Matt sighed. "It was just-…"**

**A huge bang interrupted him as the door to the Abby burst open and a few of the locals who were about Pete's age practically fell into the pub, blood dripping down their faces. **

"**What the fuck's going on?" Terry shouted, walking around the bar to where the three blokes were standing, coughing and leaning on one another to stay upright. **

"**There must be about ten of 'em," one of the lads choked out. "Down the old park road, all getting very fucking excited when they heard this was Dunham's neighbourhood."**

"**Who are they?" Pete jerked his chin at the bloke who had spoken and pulled out a chair, gesturing for him to sit down. **

"**Not a clue, mate," he coughed, spitting some blood into the napkin Lucy had handed him. "But they're not pissing about, I can tell you that much."**

"**Alright," Pete made his way towards the door, stopping only when Dave reached out and grabbed his arm. "What're you doing?"**

"**Mate are you sure about this?" he leant in and met the younger mans eyes. "It sounds a bit fucking sussed to me,"**

"**Well we won't find out till we get out there, will we?" Pete pulled away from him and pushed his way out of the pub into the rapidly cooling May evening, Bovver and the rest of the boys right behind him. **

**Scanning the street, Pete turned to the rest of the boys and frowned. **

"**Is it just me getting old, or is there no one out here?"**

"**I don't think it's so much a case of getting old, so much as it is that you're a silly little fuck who leaps before he looks." **

**Pete turned at the sound of the familiar voice and felt his heart start pumping, the first signs of adrenaline poured into his system. Mickey Mullins grinned at him, the long jagged scar running down the side of his face which had been absent the last time Pete saw him, making him looked deranged. **

"**What's wrong, Petey?" Mickey threw his cigarette onto the floor and stubbed it out. "Did you forget how pretty I am?"**

"**What the fuck happened to you?" Pete jerked his head towards the scar. **

"**You of all people should remember," Mickey took another step forward. "You gave me this scar, Dunham. You're the reason I was in a fucking wheelchair for three months." He looked down at his feet and then back up at the group of men standing in front of him. "Having your ankle snapped in five fucking places ain't exactly a picnic to fix."**

"**Am I supposed to say sorry?" Pete laughed. "Maybe give you a hug?" he shook his head. "What the fuck are you doing here?"**

"**I heard about the yank and had to come see for myself," the other boys in the firm laughed and Matt felt his stomach drop, shooting Ike a grateful look when he stepped slightly in front of him. "A Sloane bird and a yank all in the space of three years?" Mickey snorted. "I thought you were running this firm Dunham, not turning it into a national fucking joke."**

**Pete stepped forward and glared into the mans eyes, showing no sign of fear, only utter disgust. Mickey leant forward and smirked at him, licking his lips. **

"**Speaking of," he whispered. "How is my girl?"**

**Pete laughed and shook his head. **

"**Mickey," he whispered back. "I almost killed you once, and if you've come back to see if I'd actually finish the job, then you're made a fucking dire mistake. But being the generous bloke I am, I'll give you 10 seconds to get your little bitches together and get the fuck out of my face." Meeting his eyes to make sure he'd gotten the message, Pete turned his back on Mikey, walking back towards the rest of the boys. **

"**You always were good with words, Dunham," Mikey laughed. "But when it comes to common sense, you're a right fucking mug."**

**That was the last thing Pete heard before something sharp and cold hit the back of his head, making his world turn to black. **

**

* * *

**

**Pete blinked slowly as he opened his eyes, letting them adjust to the dim light in the room; staring at the cream coloured ceiling and crystal chandelier framed the turrets of the four poster bed, he immediately knew where he was but had no recollection of getting there.**

"**So I had the strangest dream last night," he sobered up immediately at the sound of Allie's voice, but was still too disorientated to lift his head and see where it was coming from. "I dreamt that one of my fiancé's best friends called me from A&E and told me that he was in there having the better half of his head stitched back together."**

**Suddenly she appeared next to him, even her slight weight on the mattress making his head throb at the sudden movement. **

"**Oh wait," she rolled her eyes. "It wasn't a dream." Reaching down, she gently ran her fingers over his forehead, frowning when she noticed he was a little bit too warm. "How're you feeling?"**

"**Like I've been on a three day bender and then had my head shut in a vice," he answered, smiling weakly when she laughed. "How'd I get here?"**

"**Harry carried you," she smirked. "He was very gentle."**

"**Fuck," Pete winced and tried to pull himself upright. **

"**No," Allie shook her head and put a firm hand against his chest. "I'll get you whatever you need, but just don't move ok?"**

"**I need to piss," he muttered and she blushed, removing her hand. **

"**Oh," she nodded. "Right, well that's all you then."**

**Standing up, she offered him her hand and pulled him up so that he was standing, half leaning against her as she led him over to the bathroom. **

"**Do you want me to come in with you?" she asked, catching the look on his face, she rolled her eyes. "Ok, I was just offering."**

**Watching as he closed the door, she turned her attention to the bed and grimaced at the spots of blood on her pillow. Pulling the dirty case off of it, she quickly threw it in the wash bin, not waning Pete to see it. Allie's head jerked up in the direction of the bathroom when she heard the distinct sound of retching, running over to the door, she pushed it open without knocking and gasped when she saw Pete bent over the basin, rinsing his mouth out with water. **

"**Privacy, Allie," he muttered before retching again. **

"**I've seen you naked," she told him, rubbing his back soothingly. "I think I can handle seeing you puke." Grabbing a bottle of water out of the mini fridge she kept in her room she unscrewed the cap and thrust it at him, her fingers kneading the back of his neck as he took a long sip. **

"**How bad is it?" he asked her leaning back against the sink and closing his eyes. **

"**Five stitches," she told him gently. **

"**Is that all?" he laughed. "I thought I'd be worse than that."**

"**Mikey hit you with a crow bar, Pete."**

"**How'd you know it was Mikey?" Pete asked her, his voice coming out harsher than he wanted it too. It still worried him when he realised how much Allie knew about the firm because it made her vulnerable.**

"**Well funnily enough it was one of the questions that came up when I was talking to Dave and waiting for you to get back from X-ray to make sure that there wasn't a chance your brain would clot," she slammed the bottle of water down on the counter of the bathroom vanity and took a deep breath. "Because that was how hard he hit you, Pete."**

**Walking over to the other side of the room, she sat on the edge of her large bath tub and massaged her temples. If Pete thought he had a headache, he should try stepping into her fucking shoes; she hadn't slept last night because she'd been too worried to leave him alone and then when he finally wakes up, he thinks its all nothing.**

"**How long am I going to have to keep doing this?" she whispered. **

"**Oh, Allie don't start," Pete groaned. **

"**Don't start what?" she asked, throwing her hands in the air. "Worrying about you? It's a bit too late for that,"**

"**I'm fine," he promised her. **

"**Pete, when I arrived at A&E and went in to see you, I could actually see your fucking skull," she hissed. "Believe me; you were not **_**'fine'.**_**" She walked over to him and pointed at a dark patch on her white sweater just below her collarbone. **

"**You see that?" she asked him. "That's your **_**blood**_**. So don't you dare stand there and make out that this is nothing,"**

"**Look," Pete told her tiredly. "I know you're pissed off but do you think we could just-…"**

"**Pissed off?" she repeated, looking at him as though he was mad. "I'm not pissed off Pete, I'm scared." She met his eyes and he felt sick when he saw she was close to tears. "I leave Shannon's to come and see you and I…I've got this voicemail from Bovver telling me that you've been in an accident and you're in A&E, and then I get there and…" Allie trailed off, looking down at her shoes for a moment. "It was like a really bad dream and I couldn't wake up."**

**Pete wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug, pressing a kiss to the top of her head and rocking her gently. Allie and hospitals didn't mix, he knew that better than anyone; he still remembered the hollow look in her eyes when she had first told him about how her mum had died. Diagnosed with terminal cancer when Allie was only 8, she was given less than four months to live and so Allie had had to spend her 9****th**** birthday in the hospital wing with her mum who then died only two weeks later. **

"**How much is it going to cost me?" he whispered after a second. **

"**What?" she sniffed, looking up at him with blurry eyes. **

"**This thing," he pulled at the material of her sweater. "Because I know how much the shit you buy usually costs and I only cleared my student loan two years ago so…"**

**Allie laughed and shook her head, frowning when Pete winced all of a sudden. **

"**You ok?" she asked. **

"**I uh," he grinned. "I was going in for a kiss but I can't really bend my head," **

"**Oh," she wiped her eyes and nodded before backing him over to the closed toilet seat and gently pushing him down onto it so that she could sit on his lap. "We'll just have to be inventive then," she smiled, gently brushing her lips over his. "Oh my God!" she grimaced, pulling away quickly and laughing. "You need to brush your teeth," she leant in, kissing his cheek instead. **

"**Bollocks," Pete laughed, suddenly remembering that it was only a few minutes ago he had been puking his guts up. **

"**So how about while you do that, I'll go downstairs and get you some clean stuff to wear?" she let her hand slide off of his face, smiling at him once more before making her way back through her bedroom and downstairs to the kitchen. **

**Staying where he was for a moment, Pete sighed; his head was really starting to kick in now and having already taken a day off to 'make up' with Allie after their fight last week, he knew that there was no way he would be able to call in sick tomorrow morning. This meant he had about 11 hours to rid himself of the worst headache known to man and somehow try and think of a way of covering up the stitches on the back of his head. Reaching up, he felt for the bandage covering them and decided not to even try and pull it off; last time he's attempted that with a cut on his leg, he'd pulled half the God damned stitched with it. **

**Feebly brushing his teeth as best he could without jarring his head too much, Pete met his own reflection in the mirror and almost gasped. No wonder Allie had been worried: he looked like something out of Dawn of the Dead. Concentrating on moving the toothbrush slowly along his teeth, he cast a tired glance at the bedroom when his phone started ringing. Chucking the toothbrush onto the side of the sink, he rinsed his mouth before padding into the room and locating his jeans which lay in a pile beside the washing basket. **

**Picking his phone out of the pocket, he quickly glanced Dave's name on the screen before flipping it open. **

"**Alright?" he muttered, moving to perch on the edge of the bed. **

"**I think I should be asking you that," Dave told him. "How's the head?"**

"**Fucking horrendous," Pete answered honestly. "Listen mate, about last night, thanks for calling Allie and everything…"**

"**Don't even mention it mate," he coughed. "How much do you actually remember?"**

"**Piss all," Pete laughed. "I was walking away from him and then something smacked me good and proper in the back of the head, after that…nothing. Why? What'd I miss?"**

"**Well that's the fucking weird part," Dave frowned down the phone. "After they knocked you out, they ran off like a right bunch of tarts, so while me and the boys took you to the hospital, Bov and Ike followed 'em to see what was going on."**

"**And?" Pete pushed, feeling nervous for some reason. **

"**It didn't look fucking good, Pete." Dave sighed. "Ike saw Mikey talking to some bloke, all proper pally like, hand shakes and all that bollocks."**

"**Yeah, what of it?" Pete glanced at the clock and noted it was only midday. He just hoped Allie would be alright if he went back to sleep, because right now, he barely had the energy to sit upright. **

"**The bloke he was talking to," Dave paused. "It was Tommy Hatcher."**

**Pete felt all the air he had in his lungs dissolve into nothing; Hatcher? What the fuck was he doing with someone like Mikey Mullins? Surely Hatcher had more pride than to send a little bastard like him to mess Pete up?**

"**Pete?" Dave piped up. "You still there mate?"**

"**Yeah," Pete answered, pulling himself out of his thoughts. "Yeah, I'm still here, but listen," he paused for a moment, making sure that Allie wasn't outside the door or something. The last thing he needed was for her to hear any of this; he'd already worried her enough for one night. "Are you telling me that Mikey is teaming up with Tommy?"**

"**I don't know what else it could be mate," Dave told him honestly. "They've both got their reasons for having shit with us. Question is…what do we do now?"**

"**You know something mate," Pete laughed. "I have no fucking clue,"**

"**It's not good though is it, Pete?" Dave asked with a sigh. **

"**Nah," Pete shook his head, the time suddenly feeling a lot later than it was. "Nah, it's really not."**

* * *

**Pete watched the steadily dimming sunlight flicker across Allie's features as she lay next to him, pen still in hand, her head resting on her notebook where she had obviously been working to stay awake and keep an eye on him. **

**He couldn't actually remember falling asleep, but he knew it must have been pretty soon after his phone call from Dave when Allie had come back upstairs with a clean t-shirt for him not to mention a bottle of the ultra strong pain killers the hospital had given him. **

**Pushing a strand of hair off of her face, he smiled as she snuggled deeper into the duvet, her hand clutching the peach coloured cotton and making her engagement ring glint in the sunlight. He'd carried that damn thing around with him for six months, battling over where and when to give it to her all the while half expecting her to laugh in his face when he finally grew a pair and did it. **

**But she hadn't; she's said yes…and even though he didn't want to scare her by saying anything, if Pete was truthful he was seriously rethinking the whole 'we should wait' strategy. He remembered all the times he had rolled his eyes at Steve when he had yammered on about marrying Shannon; Pete's argument had always been that it didn't matter whether they got married or not, as long as they were together, what was the rush? **

**But looking at Allie now, he could finally understand his brother; he wanted to wake up every morning and **_**know **_**that she was his, he wanted them to live together, not flit back and forth to each others houses every other night the way they had been doing…and worst of all –God help him- he wanted a family with her. **

**Rolling his eyes, Pete fought the urge to laugh; Allie had the ability to reduce him to the level of a love sick school boy on the best of days as it was, but he had no doubt in his mind that Allie Harding pregnant with his child would rid him of any coherent thought altogether and reduce him to a gooey eyed shell of the man he was now. **

**Grinning, he placed a hand on the small of her back and rubbed tiny circles through the material of her blue t-shirt; he couldn't fucking wait. **

"**The ink was still wet, wasn't it?"**

**Pete frowned, his gaze shooting back up to Allie's face, noticing that even though her eyes were still closed, there was a faint smile on her lips. **

"**Look," she opened her eyes and smiled sleepily at him, raising her head off of the notepad and turning it slightly, revealing the blue smudge on her cheek. **

**Laughing, Pete reached out and gently rubbed it but gave up when he only seemed to be making it worse. **

"**How's the head?" Allie asked him, pushing herself up onto her elbows so that she was still lying on her stomach, but facing him more directly. To her relief, she noticed he didn't look as pale as he had done earlier and even better, there didn't appear to be any blood on her pillow. **

"**Alright actually," he reached behind him and felt the wound which was much less sore, and even the swelling had gone down. "I think the pills worked."**

**Allie nodded and closed her eyes again for a second, sighing deeply she felt Pete's lips on the back of her neck. Her head had a lot going on, but her body seemed to be content to just lie there, willing her back to sleep for another few hours so that she could catch up on all the rest she had lost last night. **

"**Pete?" she whispered when his mouth brushed against her cheek. **

"**Yeah?" he pulled away slightly and frowned when she pushed herself up completely, sitting in cross legged next to him **

"**Can I ask you something?" she tucked her hair behind her ears and nervously chewed her lip. Pete sat up, his back to the headboard, already feeling nervous about what was going to come out of her mouth. **

"**It's just something Dave mentioned last night," she told him, seeing the wariness on his face. "Or some**_**one**_**, actually,"**

"**What?" Pete shook his head in confusion. **

"**Who's Tommy Hatcher?" **

**The words seemed to knock the wind out of him and his light blue eyes darkened dangerously. **

"**Tommy Hatcher?" Pete repeated slowly. Did he really want to go into this with her? To drag her even deeper into a world that he didn't ever want her to become a part of? Catching the persistent look in her bright green eyes that he knew so well, he realised that he may not have a choice. **

"**What have you heard?" Pete asked her seriously. **

"**Nothing much," Allie shrugged. "All I know is that he must be pretty important if Bovver and Ike went to see him instead of going to the hospital with you," she shook her head. "Is he like a friend or something?"**

**Pete very nearly laughed at that, but given the circumstances not to mention the agony still sweeping across the back of his head. **

"**No, he's not a mate," Pete told her, looking up he saw the genuine curiosity in her eyes and sighed. "You know how most firms don't exactly get on with each other?"**

"**Yeah," Allie rolled her eyes. "Oil and water, right?"**

"**Try Israel and Palestine," he smirked slightly when she laughed. **

"**It can't be that bad," she shook her head. **

"**It can when it's Millwall," he assured her, shifting back slightly so that his back was to the cushions and not the iron railing. "Tommy Hatcher is the head of the Millwall firm," Pete hesitated. "Me and him…we have a lot of history. Well, inherited history anyway."**

"**Inherited history?" Allie raised her eyebrows and tilted her head to the side, obviously confused. **

"**You remember how I told you about Steve being the Major?" he asked her, seeing the instant recognition in her eyes. He knew that she had been shocked when he told her that years ago, but Allie had only known Steve three years; she didn't know who he used to be, but to be honest that was probably a good thing. **

"**Well back in Steve's day there was a Millwall-Hammers game, and we lost it," Pete shrugged. "Not that big a deal, but Millwall, they're a right bunch of gloating bastards and Tommy…" he shook his head. "Tommy never knew when to back off. He started chanting, shouting at Steve and his boys, full on fucking goading them into a fight. And Steve's temper isn't what it is now, so he snapped."**

**Allie held her breath, not particularly liking where this was going but needing to hear the end of it nonetheless. **

"**They fought, and someone ended up getting killed." Pete looked Allie straight in the eye and swallowed hard. "Tommy had a son…he was only 13, but Tommy insisted on bringing to every match,"**

**Allie closed her eyes and felt sick; no…there was no way that Steve could ever…**

"**Steve tried to help him," Pete carried on. "He tried to get through the crowd, but it was too late by the time he got to the kid…he was dead. After that Tommy went fucking mental, I mean the bloke wasn't all there to begin with but when his son died," Pete shook his head. "He wanted Steve dead, probably still does,"**

"**So let me get this straight," Allie whispered, still horrified by the fact that a child had **_**died**_** for the sake of this. "Steve quit the GSE and you just…stepped in? Knowing that all this had happened, you still put yourself forward for it."**

"**Hatcher's problem is with Steve, not me," Pete assured her. **

"**Yeah?" she laughed bitterly. "Well the back of your head begs to differ," she snorted. "What does Tommy have to do with Mikey?"**

"**I don't know," Pete told her honestly. "Mikey's part of the Liverpool firm, and they ain't exactly best mates with Millwall either,"**

"**But basically what it comes down to is the bloke who hates your brother and the bloke who hates you just happen to be having cosy little chats on the same night you get your head bashed in with a crow bar?" Allie laughed and shook her head, casting her gaze down to the duvet, her eyes tracing the decorative lines sewn into the Egyptian cotton. **

"**Oi," Pete gently lifted her chin so that she was looking at him. "You know I hate telling you this stuff," he traced her lips with his thumb. "Mikey was just proving a point," he told her. "He's still got his dandies in a twist over what happened with you."**

"**What about Tommy?" Allie asked him, leaning into his touch. **

"**Tommy," Pete shook his head. What was he supposed to say? Tommy Hatcher was probably the only bloke out there who posed a threat to the GSE, not because he wanted a piece of them –fuck if that was the case, he could just get in line with everyone else- but it was because Pete knew how far someone like Tommy Hatcher would go to get a piece of them. "Tommy isn't an issue, he hasn't been for a long time for the GSE, and I've got no fucking plans to meet up for any chats with him," he stared at her for a long moment. "You ok?"**

**Allie nodded mutely, still not looking him in the eye even when he cupped her face with both hands and tried to force her. **

"**Hey," he whispered. "Hey, I'm not going to let anything happen ok? Especially to you,"**

"**It's not **_**me**_** I'm worried about," she shook her head. **

"**I'm not going anywhere," Pete promised her and then grinned after a moment. "**_**You**_** on the other hand, are too far away as it is." He trailed off, pulling her onto his lap so that she was straddling him and wrapped his arms around her. **

"**More bruises," she rolled her eyes at the slight purple tinge of the skin near his eyebrow. Leaning down, she gently brushed her lips over it. "Anywhere else?"**

"**Depends if you're offering more lip action," Pete winked at her and she laughed; only a man could be horny at a time like this. **

"**You are in no fit state to handle me tonight, Dunham," she told him, looking him up and down. "Last I checked you could barely sit up let alone…move."**

"**Sounds like a challenge to me," Pete smirked at her before pulling her down and kissing her deeply. He smiled against her lips when she responded immediately, her fingers drifting lower to pull at the track pants he was wearing. **

**Pete reached for the hem of her T-shirt, his eyes momentarily leaving her and drifting over to the now abandoned note book on the bed, smiling against her skin when he saw the words '**_**Wedding List' **_**written on it, still clear despite the smudging. **

**He would promise her that he would be ok, and he would pray to every God there was that he would be able to keep that promise.**

_**I have to,**_** he thought, shuddering when she whimpered his name against his lips, begging him to keep touching her. **

**Because if losing her was the alternative…it didn't even bear thinking about. **


	28. Chapter 28

**This chapter is for Becki2810, The Hollister, BlackHoles-Revelations and SkyLineGAL whose wonderful and loyal review-age have kept me going through writers block, self-doubt and the worst case of the flu known to mankind! Enjoy….**

"**Do you mind repeating that f****or me? It's just in my old age I have a habit of mishearing things," Tommy Hatcher cocked his head to one side and stared straight through the young man sat in front of him. **

"**I did what you asked me to," Mikey stuttered; despite his own reputation as a bit of a scary bastard, Mikey felt more than a little nervous about the way Tommy was staring at him. **

"**No," Tommy shook his head. "I asked you to 'deal' with Dunham. Now in what fucking subtext did you hear the words 'twat him round the head with a crow bar and then peg it'?"**

"**It's unnerved him," Mikey protested. "I know he didn't see that coming."**

"**Of course he didn't you silly little cunt," Tommy laughed. "You did it while his back was turned." He leant on the table and lowered his voice. "Pete Dunham might be a bit of an annoyance to me, but he's a fucking threat to you. Or have you forgotten that he's the reason half your left foot is made of fucking metal now?"**

**Mikey gulped, reaching for his cigarettes with a shaking hand and willing his heart beat to slow down. **

"**You're no fucking good to me, boy," Tommy shook his head. "Don't know why I came to you in the first place, from what I heard you couldn't even finish off Dunham's bird."**

**Tommy stood up and reached behind the desk, pulling out a rusted crow bar. **

**Mikey immediately gulped and glanced at the exit to his right, his stomach sinking when one of Tommy's boys walked over and slid it shut, blocking out the late afternoon sunshine and then locking it. **

"**See this?" he pointed to the spiked end of the bar and ran his fingers along it. "This is the best part to hit a man with because not only will it knock the fucker out, but the three inch extension here will more than likely penetrate his skull, which in most cases leads to concussion, fracture, or upon repeated impact…death."**

"**Tommy, mate," Mikey stood up quickly and knocked over the chair he was sitting on, backing himself against the wall, seeing as one of the boys was still guarding the door. Tommy's garage wasn't a particularly well lit place, and all he could see through the grease smeared glass of the office windows was that every exit was indeed being guarded. **

"**What's the matter, Michael?" Tommy made his way around the desk and walked towards him. "Am I boring you?"**

"**Look, I'm…I'm sorry," Mikey pleaded. **

"**No," Tommy put a hand on his shoulder. "**_**I'm**_** sorry for boring you with my little speech on how to use a crow bar." He held it up in front of Mikey's face and swung it like a pendulum. "Maybe I should just give you a demonstration instead,"**

* * *

"**I'm just saying, the majority of it **_**is **_**bollocks," Allie slumped down slightly in one of the deck chairs on top of Pete's apartment and took a long sip of her beer. **

"**You're only saying that because you don't understand it," Ned told her. "You're a fucking Sloaner; of course you're not going to appreciate the beauty of rhyming slang."**

"**What beauty?" she scoffed, sitting up straighter and tried to put on a London accent. "Oh mate, lend me some bees, I spent all my money on a ruby and now I don't have enough for a Richard Gere." **

**Pete who was sat on the deck chair across from her actually spat out his beer, choking on his laughter, as did the rest of the boys. **

"**How is that anything to be proud of?" she laughed along with them. **

"**You know what?" Dave told her shaking his head and wiping the tears out of his eyes. "I'm too fucking impressed to be offended."**

"**Well," Allie grinned, taking another sip of her beer. "I do try,"**

"**We've proper cockneyed the girl," Ned laughed, winking at her. **

"**Like fuck you have," she shot back, and again the lads dissolved into laughter. "I didn't go through three years of finishing school to start talking that bollocks."**

**She giggled at their responses and glanced at the now empty cooler on the table with a frown; given she had the day off tomorrow to recover from her hang over, she wasn't nearly as drunk as she wanted to be. Standing up, she dusted off the back of her jeans and picked her empty bottle off of the ground. **

"**Where are you going?" Pete asked, nudging her with his foot. **

"**We need more beer," she explained, holding up the empty bottle. "I'll be back in a sec," she winked at him, leaning on Dave's shoulder for support as she passed him and made her way towards the stairs. Upon noticing the task of putting one foot in front of the other was more of a challenge than it should have been, she wondered if she really **_**did**_** need the extra alcohol running through her veins. **

**Pushing through the door and stepping into the living room, Allie jumped when she saw Matt stood at the kitchen counter, his blue eyed clouded with worry as he stared at the wall. **

"**Christ!" she laughed, clasping a hand to her chest. "You have me heart failure!"**

"**Sorry," he replied, sending her a smile that didn't even try to reach his eyes. "I just got in and I didn't think anyone else was here."**

"**Oh we're all out on the roof," she told him. "Well, everyone except Bovver and Keith," she added, thinking that might sweeten the deal for Matt. **

**Matt nodded mutely and taped his fingers against the counter top, falling back into his sullen silence. **

**Grabbing a few bottles of beer out of the fridge, she pushed one across the counter to Matt and then slid onto the stool across from him, looking at him expectantly. **

**He stared down at the bottle, but Allie could see the smile tugging at his lips. **

"**What's wrong?" she asked him. **

"**Nothing," he sighed, shaking his head. Looking up her saw the determination in her clear green eyes and it occurred to him that she wasn't going to back down until he started talking. "It's my Dad; he's come over to England."**

"**Is that bad?" Allie raised her eyebrows. Most days she would have sold her soul for her Dad to come home; since taking a step back from the law firm he owned, her father had decided to go and see the world, but ended up doing a lot of pro bono work over in Mexico city, helping families who were in trouble but couldn't afford a lawyer. The last time she'd seen him had been at her birthday and that had been back in June. **

"**You don't know my Dad," Matt laughed bitterly, taking a long, soothing sip of beer. "He's a pain in the ass, you know, he always wanted me to do what he wanted, it never mattered what I thought about it." He shrugged. "That's why in a lot of ways, getting kicked out of Harvard was a blessing, you know? I got to start making my own choices and doing what I wanted and now its like he's come back at everything's already going back to how it used to be. He keeps asking me why I'm here, what my plans are…" Matt shook his head. "It doesn't help that Shannon's feeding him a load of bullshit behind my back, either."**

"**Matt, how old are you?" Allie asked him, cocking her head to the side. **

"**23," he answered, looking at her strangely. **

"**Ok, well then there's your answer," she reached across the table and took his hand. "He's your Dad, ok and like it or not, its his job to pester you and ask all the annoying questions that you don't want to have to think about. But it's not your job to answer them…not anymore. You're a 23 year old man and if Harvard's not what you want, then that's all you have to say. You don't owe anyone an explanation, Matt." **

**Matt smiled at her, a genuine one this time and it almost shocked him how his heart wasn't pounding like it used to when she looked at him, or how he wasn't having trouble concentrating with her hand on his. She was beautiful, kind and funny…all the things she had been when he first met her, but it was **_**him **_**that must have changed, because now she was just…Allie. **

"**Sorry to interrupt the cosy little chit chat," Allie's head snapped up and she looked over Matt's shoulder to see Bovver walking into the flat and shutting the door behind him. "Don't suppose your boyfriend's in, is he?" **

**Allie frowned at him. How the hell did he even get in?**

"**Pete," Bovver clarified for her smugly. "His name's Pete."**

"_**Pete **_**is up on the roof," she shot back, not even bothering looking at him anymore. Just when things had finally been approaching a decent level of civility between her and Bovver, Matt had showed up and suddenly, it was like it was when she had first started seeing Pete; all dirty looks and underhanded comments. **

**They watched as Bovver crossed the living room without another word and walked up the set of stairs that led to the rooftop. **

"**Wanker," Allie muttered under her breath. **

**At that, Matt actually laughed, having never heard Allie say a bad word about anyone in the entire time he had known her. **

"**Sorry," she told him bashfully. **

"**Hey, no apologies needed here," Matt laughed, standing up and pulling her with him, each of them taking four bottles of beer. "I was agreeing with you."**

"**Oh wait, we need the opener," Allie smiled as Matt ran back into the kitchen and began sifting through the drawers. "And hey, on our way up, you can fill me in on what the hell is happening with you and my best friend,"**

"**Oh, that," Matt winced. **

"**Yes, 'that'," she laughed. "Come on, out with it!"**

"**Well, you know she's seeing your brother now, right?" Matt smiled at her colourful reaction. **

"**Fucking hell!" she cried. "Nobody tells me anything anymore! When did that happen?" she shook her head. "Actually, no, you know what? Take me from the beginning,"**

"**The beginning?" Matt repeated in horror. **

"**Spare no detail," she winked. **

"**Ok," Matt sighed, walking back over to her and slinging his free arm around her shoulders. "So it all started the night that I thought Pete was going to kill me…"**

* * *

"**No I fucking didn't!" Ike shouted, shaking his head. **

"**Yeah, you did!" Ned laughed. "Mate, how can you not remember? She was rough, and I mean **_**rough.**_**" **

"**Yeah well, we've all had our moment," he nodded towards Pete. "Or have you forgotten the night you were so far fucking gone that I very nearly had to pull you away from Georgie?"**

**Dave spat out his beer and looked up at his best mate, his eyes wide with shock.**

"**Oh, mate you didn't," he shook his head. "Tell me you didn't…"**

"**Piss off!" he frowned. "I wouldn't touch her with a fucking barge pole,"**

"**Yeah well from the way you were talking, you would have," he winked. "And it sounded like you wanted to do more than just touch her with it," Ike grinned when Pete picked up a bottle cap and hurled it at him. **

**Truthfully, Pete had only been with three girls before Ally; only one of whom he had actually had the pleasure of calling his girlfriend. And when he said girlfriend, he meant absolute fucking nightmare. That was where Allie was different and definitely something of a surprise; the girl was beyond stunning, talented, had more money than most people would not what to do with…yet at the same time, she was happy to hang out with this lot drinking beer on a rooftop and talking about stupid shit that most girls would end up whinging about. **

**The door to the roof swung open and Pete grinned, sitting up straighter. **

"**Finally, we've almost sobered up!" he laughed. "I was getting worried, I though you might have passed out on the…"**

**He trailed off as Bovver appeared at the top of the steps, lighting a cigarette and looking around at them in slight disgust. **

_**Well isn't this nice and fucking cosy? **_**He thought with a sneer. **

"**We got the wrong girl," Swill laughed. "'bout time you showed up, you missed Allie talking in rhyming slang, it was fucking genius."**

"**Sorry as I am that I missed that," Bovver shot back sarcastically. "We've got bigger fucking problems."**

"**Like what exactly?" Pete nodded. He was getting tired of Bovver; the bloke had been his best mate since secondary school, but his attitude was starting wear Pete's patience thin. **

"**Mikey Mullins," Bovver took a long drag of his cigarette and tilted his head up to the sky, blowing the smoke out and watching it dissolve in the air. **

"**What's the little shit done now?" Dave snapped. **

"**Nothing," Bovver met Pete's eyes. "He's dead."**

**The entire rooftop fell silent as Pete leant forward in his chair, his stomach clenching in fear. No one spoke or even looked at each other for a long moment, the only sounds coming from the odd car passing by on the street below.**

"**What'd you mean he's dead?" Pete asked, his voice sounding strangely calm. **

"**It means he's dead, Pete." Bovver shrugged. "His body was found in Greenwich this afternoon, from what I hear he got beaten to death."**

"**Fuck," Pete whispered, shaking his head. "Do they know who did it?"**

"**Word is the other Zulu's reckon Tommy had something to do with it," **

**Dave turned in his chair and frowned at Bovver. **

"**But I thought he was in pretty nice and tight with Tommy," he rubbed his forehead. "Why would he just turn around and kill him?"**

"**Yeah," Pete nodded in agreement. "And I know Hatcher's a fucking lunatic, but even that's a bit strong for him, isn't it?**

"**And what if its not?" Bovver asked him seriously. "What if it's just his way of telling you that he ain't pissing about anymore?"**

**Pete fell silent again, dropping his head into his hands and rubbing the back of his neck tiredly. Five minutes ago, he'd just been sat out here with his mates having a few beers and pissing around; now he was contemplating the fact that a bloke he'd known since he was ten had just been killed by the very man who wanted both Pete and Steve in the ground. Fuck me, how things change. **

"**That was the most disturbing ten minutes of my life," Allie's laughter floated up onto the roof and Pete tensed again. Shit, he couldn't let her know what was going on…**

"**Next time I say I want to know everything," she walked backwards onto the roof top, Matt right behind her. "Don't actually tell me **_**everything, **_**ok? Especially when it comes to my brother,"**

**Grinning at Matt, she turned around and placed the bottles of beer she was holding on the table next to Swill and Ned. **

"**Oi, guess what Matt just told me?" she grinned, looking up and meeting Pete's gaze. "Apparently Lara…" she stopped herself when she saw the look on his face. It was the same one all the other boys seemed to have…something between shock and fear. What the hell had happened? Glancing at Bovver who was stood in front of her, she raised her eyebrows prompting someone to start talking. **

"**Is everything ok?" she asked warily. **

"**It's fine." Bovver told her, glaring at Matt over her shoulder. **

"**Well obviously its not," she gestured to the boys who were still staring at the ground. "I mean something must have…"**

"**I just said it was fucking fine, didn't I?" he shouted at her, leaning in and getting in her face. "Just shut. Up."**

**Allie almost jumped; as bad as Bovver was to her at times, he'd never spoken to her like that before. **

**Hearing a chair scrape, Bovver didn't need to turn around to see that Pete had stood up and was now looking at him pretty dangerously. **

"**Watch it, Bov," he growled. "Everyone's on edge at the moment, but if I were you I would control that fucking temper because I am in no mood to be pissed around." He placed a hand on Bovver's shoulder and leant in enough so that only Bovver would be able to hear what he said. "Now back the fuck off her."**

**Storming away from Allie, Bovver walked over to the far side of the rooftop and laced his hands behind his head, closing his eyes and trying to figure out what the hell their next move was going to be. **

"**I'm sorry," Allie whispered, looking up at Pete. "I didn't mean to...I don't even know what's going on."**

"**It's not your fault," Pete told her, pulling her to him and hugging her, needing the contact at that moment. He would never admit it, but he was scared. It wasn't unusual for someone to end up injured after a fight, Christ, if he had a penny for every time he'd ended up in A&E after a match…but when someone got killed…that was a very fucking different matter. **

**Tomorrow was the national draw when it was announced who was playing who in the league, and that was when all hell would break lose. Whoever drew with Millwall was pretty much fucked. **

"**Are you ok?" Allie whispered into his ear, her arms tightening around him. **

"**Yeah," he nodded against her shoulder. And immediately Allie understood that that was code for, 'I can't talk now'. **

**Pulling back from him, she knew that whatever was going on out here, she wasn't involved in and she wasn't about to make the atmosphere even worse by staying where she wasn't wanted. **

"**You know what, I'm actually feeling a little bit ill," she told him. "I'm going to head to bed."**

"**Lightweight," Dave teased her, but she could tell his heart wasn't in it. "The queen of shots gets taken down by two beers…I never thought I'd see the day."**

"**I think I reached my alcohol consumption peak too soon," she joked. "Either that or I'm getting old." **

**Allie smiled at the boys and squeezed Pete's hand before letting go completely. **

"'**Night," she called as she made her way towards the stairs, a chorus of voices minus Bovver calling back to her as she practically ran down towards the flat, not wanting to be up there even a second longer. **

"**That was fucking out of order," Pete turned and snarled at Bovver. "It's got nothing to do with her,"**

"**I've got to confess, Pete," Bovver laughed. "Right at this second, the fact that I may have hurt your missus' feelings really isn't falling into my fucking list of priorities. In case you'd forgotten, someone's **_**dead**_**."**

"**What?" Matt gasped. "Who?"**

"**Oh for fuck sake," Bovver muttered, kicking over an empty can. **

"**Mikey," Pete told him. "The bloke that hit me the other night; he was beaten to death."**

"**What?" Matt practically whispered, looking around at the other sullen faces. **

"**So what'd we do now?" Swill asked, leaning on the table and spinning one of the empty bottles on its side. **

**Pete took a deep breath and rubbed the back of his neck; the injury he'd sustained from Mikey only last week still hadn't healed completely so between that and the stress of their current situation, he was starting to get another headache. **

"**We see what happens with the draw tomorrow," he told them slowly. "And if we get Millwall…" he shook his head. **

"**What?" Matt pressed. **

"**Then we start getting ready for the fight of out lives," he stared out at the shimmering horizon, the lights of the city casting an amber glow on the darkening night sky. "Because something tells me a bastard like Hatcher isn't going to go down easy."**

* * *

**Pete closed the bedroom door as quietly as he could, noticing that Allie was –true to her word- flat out in the bed, wearing only one of his shirts with the duvet kicked off all the way down to her feet. Knowing that she only ever did that when she was sleeping badly, Pete felt guilty, knowing that the little incident up on the roof had probably worried her. Pulling off his jeans and t-shirt, he climbed into bed beside her and coaxed her into his arms, pulling the duvet back up so that it was covering both of them. **

"**Are you ok?" she mumbled, her eyes still closed as she snuggled into his chest, not completely awake.**

"**Yeah," Pete smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Go back to sleep,"**

"**It'll be ok," she mumbled against his chest, sleepily pressing her lips where she could feel his heart beating against the darkened skin of his tattoo. **

"**What?" Pete ran a hand through her hair and stared up at the ceiling. **

"**Whatever's wrong," she shrugged. "You'll be ok,"**

"**Yeah," he held her tighter, taking comfort in as the coconut and vanilla essence of her shampoo enveloped him, her hands holding onto his shoulders, unconsciously massaging the tension in his muscles, even in her sleep. "I'll be ok."**

**He listened for a moment and realised that her breathing had slowed down again, letting him know that she was asleep. Breathing a sigh of relief, Pete pulled her hair to one side and gently ran his fingers along the back of her neck. He was glad that she had fallen asleep; it meant that she hadn't seen the doubt and fear in his eyes as those words left his mouth.**


	29. Chapter 29

"**Right," Pete grinned, closing the classroom door and lowering his voice. "So before we watch the documentary on the Tudors, who fancies watching the draw?"**

**He laughed as the sea of overexcited ten year olds in front of him started pushing their chairs closer to the TV at the front of the room and chatting animatedly amongst themselves about who was going to get who. Surfing through the channels quickly, Pete found Sky Sports and turned the volume up before crouching down amongst the kids and leaning on one of the desks for support. **

"**Mr. Ellis says he doesn't even know why they're bothering," one of the boys called out as the ads came to a close. "He said Chelsea will win no matter what happens."**

**Pete laughed as the rest of the boys in the class began booing; he'd taught them well. **

"**Welcome, ladies and gentlemen to the Quarterfinal Draw," Pete's attention was pulled immediately back to the screen and suddenly every nerve in his body was on edge. "For the Football Association Cup, the oldest and most prestigious tournament in World Cup Football."**

**Between the tension sweeping around his body and the cramp already making itself known in his knee, Pete was willing them to hurry up…the only number he wanted to hear was 8. **

**Minutes passed and he was gripping the desk so tightly that his fingers were almost numb. Come on, come on…**

"**Number eight, West Ham United," **

**Pete let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and heard a few of the boys shuffle in their chairs, apparently as eager to hear this as he was. **

"**Will play…"**

"**Fuck," Pete whispered, leaning his head on his free hand and staring at the screen as the few seconds seemed to stretch on for an eternity. **

"**Number five, Millwall."**

"**Yes!" he shouted, as fear, adrenaline and an odd sense of relief swept through him. As he had explained to Matt when they first met, Millwall-West Ham was an old score, but it needed to be settled; and given what had happened to Mikey the stakes had been upped, but to Pete that only made it more necessary for them to take Hatcher down. Permanently.**

* * *

**Pete practically ran into his flat, still on the phone to Bovver. **

"**Abby at 7, yeah?" he asked, dropping his keys onto the table by the door and kicking the pile of unopened post to the side. "No, I'm not driving you cheeky slag, you can get the train like the rest of us." He laughed. "Yeah, alright, let Ike know what's going on, yeah? Ok, take it easy mate,"**

**Hanging up his phone, he noticed the familiar military jacket and stupidly high heeled boots strewn under the dining table. Walking further into the living room, confused when he saw that the TV was on, but no one was there. Moving to switch it off, he laughed and shook his head when noticed Allie was fast asleep on the sofa. Crouching down next to her, he picked up a packet of pain killers which were lying on the floor and frowned. She had still been flat out when he left for work this morning, but judging from the way she was dressed, it looked like she'd been into work as well. **

"**Allie?" he called softly, shaking her shoulder lightly. She immediately began to stir and he felt a little bad, but he needed to make sure she was ok. **

"**Hmmm?" she mumbled, not opening her eyes. **

"**Baby, are you alright?" he asked, brushing his fingers over her cheek. **

**Her eyes opened slowly and she yawned, sending him an apologetic smile before pulling herself upright, rubbing her eyes as she squinted at the clock and sighed, realising it was already 4pm. **

"**Hey," she smiled rubbing the back of her neck. "Sorry, I had no idea what time it was."**

"**Did you go into work?" he asked, gesturing to her outfit. It always made him laugh that walking into the office at Vogue was like walking into a club; people were dressed up in clothes that cost more than Pete's rent every month just to answer phones and go to meetings. **

"**Yeah for about an hour, but then I got sick and they sent me home," she laughed. **

"**Sick?" Pete asked her. "I didn't think you even drank that much last night,"**

"**I didn't," she shook her head. "That's the weird thing, but there I was sat in on one of the staff meetings and suddenly it hit me," she shrugged. "What's even weirder is I feel fine now."**

"**You sure?" Pete frowned. "I can make you a doctor's appointment if you want?"**

"**No, honestly I'm fine," she shook her head and then grinned at him. "I wouldn't say no to a coffee though,"**

"**Cheeky bugger," Pete laughed, hooking his arms around her waist so that when he stood up, he pulled her with him. "So does this mean you've got the afternoon free?" he asked, leaning down and kissing her neck. "Because I have a few ideas on how to make you feel better."**

"**I have to go and help Jack at 6, it was one of the conditions of letting me go home early to sleep off the hangover that I don't actually have." she laughed, leaning into him and pulling playfully on his tie. She needed to shower and sort herself out, so Allie knew that that would mean pulling away, but she couldn't… not when the man looked **_**this**_** good in a suit. "And then I'm seeing Shannon at about 8,"**

**Pete nodded; Allie and Shannon had been close since the first time he introduced them at Shannon and Steve's wedding almost four years ago now. While Shannon had been expecting one of the nasty looking girls that frequented the Abby to show up in a mini skirt and belly top, her jaw had pretty much hit the floor when she saw Allie, and so since then they had bonded over Shannon's pregnancy and more often than not, the trials and tribulations of dating a Dunham man. **

"**So that gives us two hours," Pete mumbled against her mouth. **

"**Yeah, but I need to have a shower," Allie laughed. "Or did you not hear the projectile vomiting story?"**

"**I heard," Pete smirked, pulling her through the flat towards his bedroom. Despite her mental and vocal protests, Allie found herself following him pretty willingly. She frowned when he carried on through his bedroom and led her into the bathroom, then laughed as he turned on the shower and tugged his own shirt off, muttering something about killing two birds with one stone. He was yet to mention what had happened last night, but she knew that whatever it was had to be pretty bad if he was reluctant to tell **_**her. **_**But then there were two different versions of Pete; there was the Major and then there was just Pete. Allie loved them both, but he always kept his role in the GSE private from her unless absolutely necessary; which wasn't something Allie often complained about, because whenever he did confide it in, like the other night about Tommy Hatcher, it ate away at her insides for days. **

**He would tell her eventually though, she decided as he pulled her under the stream of water and kissed her thoroughly…he always told her in the end.**

**

* * *

**

"**I've been thinking," Pete mumbled as he kissed his way across Allie's shoulder, pressing her back a little harder against the wall of his shower. **

"**Oh Christ, that's never good," she giggled, running her hand down his back and silently pleading with the water to stay hot. They'd been in here for a good half an hour and she **_**still **_**hadn't managed to pull away from his grasp to wash her hair. Moaning his name loudly as he trailed his tongue up her throat and let his hands drift lower down her body, she realised that her argument would be a lot more convincing if he wasn't so damn good at this. **

"**I want to get married," he told her, sucking on the skin of her neck and feeling the vibration through her skin as she laughed. **

"**I think we established that with the whole 'proposal' incident," Allie told him, holding up her left hand and pointing to the ring on it as he pulled away and smirked at her. **

"**Funny," he told her, noticing the goose bumps on her skin and reaching behind him to blindly turn the hot water up. "I meant…" he sighed. "I don't want to wait another two years. I want to marry you now."**

"**What, in the shower?" Allie gasped. "Well I have to tell you I'm a little disappointed, I mean I had a dress picked out and everything…"**

"**I'm serious," Pete laughed, shaking his head. "What the fuck are we waiting for exactly?"**

"**I don't know," Allie shrugged, playfully slapping his shoulder. "What's got into you?" she looked at him with a mischievous glint in her eye. "Don't tell me I've gone and got you pregnant,"**

"**You, Harding," he smirked, picking her up and focusing on keeping his footing on the bottom of the tub. "Are a fucking comic genius, has anyone ever told you that?"**

"**You really want to marry me?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck. **

"**I've got nothing better to do," he shrugged, smiling when she laughed. "How does May sound?"**

"**May?" her eyes widened and she shook her head. "That's in six months,"**

"**Yeah," Pete grinned. "Can't be too hard, can it?"**

"**May," Allie briefly worried that she was going to stretch the skin on her face, her smile was so big. **

"**You up for it?" Pete met her eyes and held onto her a little bit tighter. **

"**Yes," she grinned, her eyes drifting down to his lips. "It's not like I've got anything better to do,"**

**Pete laughed as she leant down and kissed him, her hands pushing against his chest and encouraging him to lean back against the wall of the shower. **

"**I lo-…" Allie jumped as the loud banging echoed through the small flat.**

"**What the fuck?" Pete frowned, letting her slip down his body so that her feet were on the floor again. The thumping continued and it took him a minute to realise that it was someone at the front door. **

"**Sounds pretty urgent," Allie told him.**

"**Yeah," he leant down and kissed her. "I'll right back, alright?"**

"**Sure," she smiled, reaching for the shampoo, determined to wash her hair before the hot water completely ran out. Watching through the glass as he reached for a towel before wrapping it around his waist, she wolf whistled at him and he grinned at her over his shoulder. **

"**Pervert," he called, pulling the bathroom door open, still grinning as the sound of her laughter followed him through the bedroom. The knocking seemed to get even louder and he vowed to punch Matt in the head if he'd forgotten his key again. Seeing as it had been over a month since the whole Matt-likes-Allie fiasco, he'd agreed to let the yank move back in with him, as Allie herself had said, their friendship was too strong for them to just abandon it over the worlds stupidest fight. **

"**Alright, hang on!" he shouted, reaching for his sweater and pulling it on as he made his way over to the door. Roughly yanking it open, he frowned in surprise when he saw Bovver, Ned and Keith stood there not looking very bloody happy. **

"**Alright boys?" he nodded. "What're you lot doing here?"**

"**The yank here?" Bovver asked, trying to peer around the door frame. Typical Bovver; no pleasantries or basic manners, just straight to the point. **

"**Nah, he's-…"**

"**A fucking undercover journo," Bov interrupted, the shock on Pete's face not going unnoticed. **

"**Nah, bollocks," he shook his head. There was no way Matt was a journo, he would have said something by now, to Pete or even Allie if no one else. **

"**Nah, its straight mate," Ned nodded. "I seen him walking out the Times with all the other journos, shaking hands, proper pally," he shrugged. "What's all that about?"**

"**Think about it Pete," Bovver leant in, getting in his face. "He drops in out of nowhere, never been in a scrap in his life, snugs in nice and tight with the…" he sniffed, looking Pete up and down. "Top boy of the firm. For fuck sake Pete, what else was he doing down at the Times?" **

"**No," Pete shook his head, refusing to buy any of it; Bovver had hated Matt since day one, but Pete honestly thought that he would never go this far to prove a point. "It means fuck all; could have been any one of a hundred reasons he was down there."**

"**This time I'd like to make sure of that myself," Bovver moved to walk into the flat, stopping only when Pete slammed his arm over the gap in the door, keeping him in the hallway. **

"**Are you sure of this Bov?" he narrowed his eyes. "Because if you're coming in here like this, then you fucking well better be,"**

"**Yeah, watch out son," Bov shoved his arm and walked into the living room, Ned and Keith right behind him. Noticing the backpack lying on the sofa, Bovver glanced at Pete who was staring straight back at him, his blue eyes challenging as he folded his arms over his chest. **

"**This his, is it?" Bovver asked, not really waiting for an answer as he reached for it and began pulling things out. **

"**Yeah,"**

"**Here Keith," Bovver handed the taller man Matt's laptop. "You know all about computers, have a look."**

**Pete reached down and picked up a thick binder, his stomach tensing with anger when he noticed it was an essay on journalism. Shit, all this time Bovver had been right…**

"**Here we go," Pete looked up, pulled out of his reverie by Bovver's voice. **

"'**First Match," he read off of the screen. "Birmingham V. West Ham. Home. Pete brought me to the Bridget Abby Pub on Walsh Road, his main hang out, and introduced me to his gang." **

**Bovver looked up at Pete and laughed bitterly. **

"**Oh, look, we're a fucking gang now," he shook his head in disgust and then looked at Keith expectantly. "Make it go up," he gestured to the screen. "Bovver is Pete's thuggish right hand man, Keith is sort of Bovver's enforcer," he slammed his fist down on the coffee table. "Happy now? We're all in there."**

"**He didn't write nothing about me," Ned complained. **

"**Bov-…" **

**Pete was cut off as the bedroom door opened and Allie stepped out, pulling up one of the straps on her long black camisole which had fallen down slightly when she reached up to tie her hair. Pausing momentarily at the sight of Bovver and the rest of them hunched over Matt's laptop, she bit her lip, not knowing whether to ask or not. Seeing the look in Pete's eyes, she was going to go with 'not.' But she had a feeling whatever was going on had something to do with what had happened last night. **

"**Hi," She smiled nervously at them. It wasn't exactly difficult to notice the atmosphere in the room and she felt the need to get out of there even quicker. **

"**Allie," Bovver replied, not even looking up from the screen. **

**Curbing the urge to tell him to go fuck himself, Allie picked her handbag off of the table and grabbed her car keys. **

"**You're going already?" Pete frowned.**

"**Yeah, well the meetings in half an hour and so by the time I get there and stuff," she trailed off. "I'm seeing Shannon afterwards but I'll be back from about 10 if you fancy dinner or something."**

"**I might stay round yours tonight if that's ok?" Pete smiled at her reassuringly; truth be told with everything that was going on with Matt right now, he didn't want to be anywhere near the bastard so he'd give him 24 hours to sort out somewhere else and then he was out. **

"**Yeah, of course," Allie nodded. "Just come over whenever," she walked over to him and kissed him, ignoring the feel of Bovver's eyes on her. Pulling away she met Pete's eyes and tried to ask if he was ok; he nodded and squeezed her hand, which to her translated as 'no, but I'll have to tell you later'. **

"**Right," she let go of him completely and pulled on her jacket. "I'll see you guys later,"**

**As soon as the door closed behind her, Bovver looked up at him questioningly, as if to say 'what are you waiting for?'**

"**Call Matt and find out where he is," Pete ordered. "I'll go put some clothes on,"**

**Slamming the bedroom door with as much force as he could muster, Pete braced himself on the dresser for a moment, staring at his reflection. A journalist had gotten in with the GSE and it was all his fault; he'd been taken in too quickly, put too much trust in the bloke. Fuck getting kicked out of Harvard, Pete thought bitterly, this little story would probably get him an award. **

**Pulling on his sweater, Pete grabbed his keys off of the table and yanked the door open, storming past Bovver, Keith and Ned and out into the hallway, not waiting to see if they were following. **

**He just needed to get Matt sorted out, because right now, he was an even bigger threat to the firm that Tommy was. And that meant that they needed to get rid of him. **

_**Now. **_

**So the next chapter is when it all kicks off…and I mean big time. I'm back at college this week so I won't be quite as OCD as I have been with my updates, but that's probably a good thing as I don't want to bore you! Anyway, next ch. will be up by Thursday at the latest. Don't forget to review! xxx**


	30. Chapter 30

_I'm not actually sure what I have less of: Work or self control when it comes to posting ch's of this story :D _

_Either way, have this...and make of it what you will. Reviews are wonderfull as always,let me know what you make of this one as I was pretty nervous about writing it, and the NEXT chapter actually. but you'll have to wait for that one...:) (and i mean it this time...;) _

"**These are for you."**

**Allie looked up just in time to see Shannon drop a huge pile of what looked suspiciously like Bridal magazines on the coffee table. Reaching for her cup which had begun to shake as the mountain of papers hit the marble counter top, Allie looked up at the older woman as though she was mad. **

"**Jesus, Shannon did you rob a newsagents?" she laughed, warily flicking though one entitled 'How to Survive the Big Day and Still Have Energy for the Honeymoon'.**

"**Laugh now, but believe me all of this will at some point save your life," Shannon told her, glancing at Ben who was sat on the floor beside them playing happily with his Duplo set. Gurgling contentedly, he held up a chocolate covered brick to her, and Shannon laughed. **

"**Ok, this is great, but you do know that this wedding isn't happening for…" **

"**Six months is nothing." Shannon waved her hand dismissively. "Allie, you can never be too prepared for a wedding, trust me." Shannon smiled, picking up one of the hair magazines and pointing to an elegant French twist. "This one's cute, huh?"**

"**Shannon," Allie dropped her head into her hands and groaned. **

"**Ok, ok," She laughed, pushing a strand of hair out of her arctic blue eyes. "Can we talk about the bachelorette party?"**

"**Why do I have the feeling you've already spoken to Lara about this?"**

"**Because I have," Shannon grinned. "We were thinking maybe a day at a spa, then some cocktails, some dinner…"**

"**A couple of strippers, maybe some illegal overseas gambling," Allie carried on, laughing at the look on Shannon's face. "You forget how long I've known you, woman. Between you and Lara, I'll be more worried about myself making it up the isle the next day than I will Pete,"**

"**Yeah, but," Shannon was cut off when the phone started ringing, the shrill sound temporarily distracting Ben from his current task. Pushing herself up from the table, Shannon playfully pulled on a strand of Allie's hair. **

"**We are so not finished with this,"**

"**Saved by the bell, huh, Benny boy?" Allie looked down at the blue eyed toddler who grinned at her, lifting a chubby hand and kicking his legs when she gave him her own, suddenly becoming very interested in her bracelet. **

"**Oh my God!"**

**Allie looked up just as Shannon dropped the phone, her shaking hands coming up to cover her face. Immediately on guard, Allie stood up, pulling Ben into her arms and cradling the back of his head. **

"**Shannon?" she tried, walking towards her. "Hun, what's happened?"**

"**Steve," she whispered, looking up at the younger woman with tears already streaming down her face. "He's in hospital, he's been stabbed."**

**Sobs began wracking her body and as though picking up on what was going on, Ben started to howl in her arms. Holding him a little tighter, Allie shushed him, rocking the baby back and forth as she reached out with her free hand and brushed some hair away from Shannon's face that had become stuck to the drying tear tracks on her cheeks. **

"**Shannon, it's going to be ok," She told her soothingly. "Ok, I need you to go and get Ben ready and then I'll drive us to the hospital, ok?"**

**Nodding mutely, Shannon walked up the stairs to the living room and began packing up Ben's travel bag. How had this happened? Steve said he's been at work, but…**

"**Ready?" Allie asked, placing a shoulder on her arm. Turning to look at her, she nodded watching as she placed Ben in his pram and then grabbed her purse off of the hallway table. **

**They ran out of the house towards Allie's Porsche parked just behind the jeep and piled into it, neither of them saying a word but both thinking the same thing. **

_**Dear God, please let the man I love be alright when I get there. **_

* * *

**Allie panted for breath as she tried to keep up with Shannon as they ran across the hospital car park, Shannon moving abnormally fast given she was pushing Ben's buggy.**

**Slowing down as they met the automatic doors, Allie caught her breath, the realisation of where they were and why they were there finally hitting her. **

**Both women stopped when they saw Pete, his face fallen as the doctor walked away from him. Allie felt her heart sink at the look on his face…he looked lost. **

**Before she could persuade her feet to move, Shannon rushed over to him and began hitting him with every ounce of strength she had.**

"**You're sick!" she shouted, her fists hitting his chest over and over again. Pete simply stood there, too numb to do anything else. "You're so sick!"**

**Allie felt her breath hitch in her throat as she watched the scene unfold, reaching her hand down to Ben who had begun to whimper, obviously aware that something was very, very wrong. Matt rushed up to Shannon and pulled her away from Pete who still just stood there, not allowing himself to look at either of them. **

"**Shhhh," Allie bent down so that she was crouched in front of the baby and gently picked up one of his hands. "It's ok, mummy's ok." She promised him, quickly looking over her shoulder at Shannon who was crying into Matt's shoulder. **

"**I want to see him," she sobbed. "I just want to see him,"**

"**Ok," Matt nodded and then pulled her over to one of the doctors who pointed down the hallway. Walking back over to Allie, Shannon gently touched her shoulder and she stood up, pulling her attention away from Ben. **

"**Thank you," Shannon told her. **

"**Do you want me to watch him while you go in?" Allie asked her, gently taking her hand. **

"**No," she shook her head, fresh tears making their way down her face. "I need him with me," **

**Nodding, Allie stepped out of the way and allowed Shannon to take the buggy, quickly pushing it down the hall towards Steve's room. Allie watched her disappear behind the swinging doors and turned her attention back to the man stood by the reception desk, gripping the edge of it so tightly that even from here she could see how white his knuckles were turning. She walked over to him slowly, unaware of what his reaction would be. **

"**Pete?" she spoke softly and felt her throat tighten at the tears in his eyes. "Oh, baby come here," she reached up and gently touched the side of his face, very nearly wincing when he pulled her so close to him that it was bridging on pain, but there was no way she would pull away. Stroking her fingers over his back, she felt his harsh breath coming out in pants against her neck and knew how hard he was trying to keep his emotions in check. Pulling away from him, she felt ill when she noticed the large patches of rapidly drying blood on his sweater. Forcing her eyes back up to meet his, she brushed a few of the tears away and took his hand leading him over to waiting area which, thank God was completely deserted except for….**

"**Bovver?" she frowned looking at the young man and wincing when she realised his hair was matted with blood. She felt Pete tense up even more beside her and squeezed his fingers, not knowing what else she could do in that moment. **

"**Trusting lads," he muttered and it took Allie a second to realise he was talking to Bovver. "You always said trusting lads was my problem, I trust lads too much; trust the **_**yank **_**too much."**

**Pete shook his head and looked down at him in complete and utter disgust. **

"**So this is how you prove your point?" he hissed. "Backstabbing me? Teaming up with Tommy Hatcher to kill the major? To kill my fucking **_**brother**_**?"**

**Bovver looked up at him with so much desperation in his eyes that Allie felt her heart go out to him for some reason. Still not understanding what was going on, she glanced over her shoulder at Matt who was chatting to one of the doctors about the rather impressive cut on his forehead. She'd only been gone four hours…how the hell did all of this happen in that time?**

"**I'll kill Tommy," Bovver stuttered, tears streaming down his face. "Just say the word and I'll do it."**

"**I don't need you for that," Pete spat at him, lowering his voice menacingly. "I don't need you for anything anymore." He pointed at him, using every ounce of strength in his body not to grab the nearest blunt object and take his own revenge. "Go away."**

"**Please, Pete," Bovver begged. "I fucked up…" **

**Obviously realising that he wasn't going to get anywhere, Bovver stood up, casting one last glance at Pete before stumbling out through the doors. After a second, Pete practically collapsed down into one of the chairs and dropped his head into his hands. **

"**How's Shannon?" Allie asked Matt as he walked over to them. **

"**She's ok," he nodded sombrely. "She's still talking to Steve." Looking at Pete, he decided to give him and Allie another few minutes together. "I'm going to go grab a coffee, do you guys want one?"**

"**Yeah, that'd be great, thanks Matt," she smiled at him as he nodded and walked back down the hallway, shoving his hands in his pockets as he went.**

**Sitting down next to Pete, she gently placed her hand on his arm and waited for him to speak; she wasn't going to pressure him. If all he wanted to do was sit there, then that was fine with her. She just wanted him to be ok. **

"**If he dies," he whispered. "Ben loses his dad, Shannon loses her husband, I lose my brother," he shook his head. "And it'll be all my fault."**

"**Pete, don't say that," Allie told him, pulling his face around so he was looking at her. "It's not your fault, ok. And Steve wouldn't want you blaming yourself over this. It was a really horrible accident and all we can do now is try and help Shannon,"**

**He nodded mutely and stared at the linoleum flooring. Of course Allie would see it that way, she didn't have a clue about half of what was going on. If she knew that Tommy had murdered Mikey, and that he had attacked the Abby with the sole purpose of finding and murdering Steve, she might not be so forgiving. **

"**Have you called your mum?" Allie asked gently. **

"**Fuck," Pete hissed shaking his head. How the hell was he going to explain this to his mum of all people? She hated had hated the firm since their Dad had been a part of it 30 years ago, if she knew that both her sons were involved and now there was a chance that one of them was going to die because of it, she'd fall apart. **

"**Hey, it's ok," she whispered leaning her head against his. "I can call her,"**

**Pete looked into her face for a moment before leaning in and kissing her forehead, he knew he'd never actually be able to tell her how grateful he was that she was there, but she knew, he could see it in her eyes. Gently caressing his face for a moment, she stood up and smiled weakly at him, moving to walk away when he caught her hand. **

"**Allie?" **

**She turned to face him again and her heart broke at the look on his face; it was so twisted in despair and fear that she almost didn't recognise him. **

"**Yeah?" she rubbed her thumb over his knuckles. **

"**I love you," he told her, his voice barely above a whisper, but she still picked up on it. **

"**I love you," she told him back. "More than anything," she brought his hand up to her mouth and kissed it. "I'll be right back, ok?"**

**She turned and smiled at Matt who was balancing three cups of weak but hot looking coffee in his arms and put her hand on his shoulder. **

"**Look after him for me," she whispered. "I'll be back in a sec,"**

**Rummaging through her purse, she found her mobile and flipped it open, searching through the contacts list until she saw the number she needed. Taking a deep breath, she pressed the call button and felt her heart tighten in her chest. How the hell do you tell a mother that her son is in intensive care and there's a chance he might not make it through the night?**

**The ringing in her ear seemed to be louder than usual and she pressed her forehead against the cool glass of the window, sighing deeply. **

"**Hello?"**

**Allie closed her eyes and concentrated on what she was about to say. **

"**Hi, Moira," she told her, keeping her voice as steady as she could. "It's Allie,"**

"**Oh hello darlin'," the older woman smiled down the line. "How are you?"**

"**I'm ok," she smiled back. "But there's been an accident…"**

* * *

"**How is he?" Dave asked as he and the boys leant against the railings of the hospital wall. **

"**He's hanging in there," Pete answered numbly, not adding that he doubted his brother would be alive to see the sunrise. **

"**So what now?" Ike breathed heavily, all of the boys beginning to feel the physical strain of what had happened the last few hours. **

"**You let Tommy know I want to straighten up," Pete nodded to himself. "Tomorrow."**

"**Alright," Dave agreed, silently thinking that it was a royally fucking bad idea but knowing from the look on Pete's face that now was not the time to argue. **

"**We finish this once and for all," he sniffed at the icy November air. "Somewhere quiet." He glanced up at Ned. "Does your mate still run security at Trinity Warf?"**

"**Yeah," Ned pulled his phone out of his pocket, already knowing where this was heading. "Get hold of him and set it up."**

"**Sure," he stepped away from the group to make the phone call, leaving the rest of the boys stood there in silence. **

**The automatic doors slid open and Allie stepped out, pausing for a moment when she noted that all the boys –with the exception of Bovver obviously- where there. **

**Swallowing the lump in her throat that had been sat there since her conversation with Moira a moment ago; dropping her phone back into her bag, she saw that her hands were shaking and shoved them deep into her coat pockets so as not to let Pete see. **

"**Alright sweetheart?" Dave smiled weakly. **

**Pete immediately spun around and walked over to her. **

"**How was she?" he asked quietly. **

"**Um," Allie shook her head, keeping her gaze trained on her shoes and ignoring the stinging in her eyes. "I think she was in shock, she didn't actually say a lot…she just," Allie shrugged and tried her best not to start crying. That would be the last thing Pete needed right now. **

**She sighed in relief when he instantly pulled him to her, sliding one hand up under her hair to cradle the back of her head as he leant down to place a soft kiss on her shoulder. **

"**Where's Shannon?" he asked her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. **

"**She went home," Allie replied. "I think Ben was getting fussy so she had to…"**

"**I should go and see her," Pete thought out loud. "Do you mind driving?"**

"**Of course not," she told him, closing her eyes when he leant in and kissed her lips gently. **

"**Matt?" he called over his shoulder. "We're heading over to Shannon's,"**

"**Ok," Matt nodded, walking over to them and glancing back at the rest of the boys. Pete had warned them not to mention a word of this in front of Allie so they merely nodded back at him and made their way to Ike's car which was parked around the corner. **

**Letting Matt climb into the back, Pete then slid into the passenger seat next to Allie and sighed gratefully when the noise of the radio filled the car and broke up the heavy silence that stayed in place the whole way to Shannon's house. **

"**Ben and I are on the noon flight to Boston."**

**Allie stared at Shannon as she packed Ben's baby bag, her hands shaking as she zipped it up quickly and then stood up, glancing around the living room to see if there was anything she'd forgotten. **

"**You can't just leave him," Matt exclaimed looking at his sister in amazement. "He was trying to protect us. You can't do this to him, Shannon!"**

"**Yes she can," Pete nodded. "And so should you."**

**Matt turned and looked at Pete, his heart pounding at the intensity in the other mans eyes; surely he didn't mean that…Matt couldn't leave. Not now, he was too involved, this was his firm too. **

"**I'm going with you to that Warf tomorrow," Matt shot back as firmly as he could. **

"**Jesus Christ!" Shannon shouted, throwing her jacket down on the floor next to the bag and storming into the kitchen. Allie placed her hand gently on Pete's back for a moment, before stepping around him and following the older woman down the hallway, leaving Matt and Pete to sort themselves out. **

"**Shannon," Allie shook her head, watching as she pulled open one of the kitchen drawers and yanked out her passport. "What are you doing? You can't leave him,"**

"**Have you seen him, Allie?" Shannon cried. "Have you actually walked into that room and seen him lying here with all the machines and wires coming out of his skin?"**

"**I know this must be horrendous," she stepped closer to her. "I can't even imagine what you're going through-…"**

"**No," Shannon snapped. "You're right, you can't. So save your words of fucking wisdom for someone who cares."**

"**He's your husband," Allie glared at her. "You owe him-…"**

"**I owe him nothing," Shannon screamed. "He made me a promise,"**

"**And so did you!" Allie shouted back at her. "Or has all that 'in sickness and in health' crap just disappeared from your memory?"**

"**What if it was Pete?" Shannon asked her seriously. "What would you do?"**

"**Well for starters **_**I'd**_** be****at the fucking hospital, not ransacking the kitchen for my passport," she snarled. "He's done nothing wrong, Shannon. You're honestly going to leave the man you love because he risked his life saving yours and his brothers' lives?"**

"**God, you don't understand, do you?" Shannon laughed at her. "You see this?" she gestured around. "This is your life in five years time, that is if Pete lives that long."**

"**What the fuck is your problem?" Allie screamed at her. "What gives you the right to stand there and say that to me?"**

"**Because you're stupid, Allie," Shannon shook her head. "You're living in a nice little dream land where you and Pete are a normal couple and one day you'll get married, and have a baby and everything will be perfect. But its bullshit; the world they live in doesn't allow for any of that." She picked up her passport and looked Allie in the eye. "And if you don't realise that before it' too late, then I'm sorry; because you're making the biggest mistake of your life."**

**Allie stood there completely shocked as the woman who up until that very moment she was sure she knew so well shoved past her, her footsteps echoing behind her as Allie stood motionless in the darkened kitchen. **

**Walking back out into the living room, she purposely ignored Shannon as she asked her to pass over Ben's jacket and instead turned her attention to Pete…wait, where was he?**

"**Matt, where's Pete gone?" Allie asked, the panic evident in her voice. "Matt?" she spoke louder this time, more urgently. **

"**He left," Matt told her, his own tone low and hollow. "I…I don't know where."**

**He faintly heard her curse before watching her run out of the front door and disappearing after Pete into the night. Turning to face Shannon who was watching him with tears in her eyes, he shook his head numbly and felt tears sting his eyes. **

"**I'm so sorry, Shannon." He whispered, reaching for her. Nodding, she wiped at the tears that began streaming down her face again and threw herself into her brother's arms, burying her face in his shoulder as she let herself cry. They stayed like that for a long while, both of them thinking about what they seemed to have lost and gained all at the same time. **


	31. Chapter 31

**It's a day early I know, but I just got given an absolute monster of an assignment and figured as I had this done I would post it now! It's the scary chapter and I don't know if I've done it any justice but I'm sure you'll let me know ;) **

"**Pete!" Allie shouted as she ran as fast as she could up the stairs to his flat. She knew that it was gone 1 in the morning and that most people would be trying to sleep but she didn't care; she just needed to find him. "Pete!" she reached his door and pounded on it with her fists, swearing when there was no answer. **

**Sobbing in frustration, she dug around in her purse determined to find the spare key he had given her. Grasping it tightly, she shoved it into the lock, relief flinging her heart at the sound of the door clicking open and she wasted no time in flinging herself inside. **

**Grabbing onto the doorframe to keep herself upright, Allie looked into the living room and frowned when she saw him sat on in the armchair, his hands clasped under his chin. Hadn't he heard her shouting his name? **

"**What the hell are you doing?" she asked him, narrowing her eyes. "You just walked out and left me there without so much as a goodbye,"**

"**I wanted you to stay with Shannon," he told her, still not looking up. **

"**Why would I stay with Shannon?" Allie shook her head, just about catching her breath back. "In case you didn't hear, she's in the process of fleeing the country,"**

"**She's only doing what she has to," Pete told her firmly. "If that was me instead of Steve, I'd…" he trailed off, unable to make himself say the words. He was more selfish in that respect, because even if it was for her sake, Pete would never, ever tell Allie to leave him. Because he knew all it would do is kill him a lot quicker. **

"**You'd what?" Allie demanded. "Tell me to leave?" she snorted. "I'm not a fucking toy, Pete. You don't get to have me around when it's convenient for you and then tell me to piss off whenever you feel like it."**

"**Convenient?" Pete spat, standing up and meeting her eyes for the first time since she'd walked in. "Its not about convenience, it's about your safety. This isn't a fucking game, Allie."**

"**Really?" she shouted. "Oh see, because I thought it was. I mean, I was just pissing myself laughing when I had to tell your mum that her oldest son is in intensive care."**

"**Do you haven any idea what's really going on here?" Pete screamed at her, and Allie took an involuntary step back. Away from him. "How dangerous all of this is?"**

**She didn't say anything back, just stared at him with a mixture of fear and sadness in her eyes. Not knowing what else to do, Pete swallowed hard and carried on talking. **

"**Tommy Hatcher," he spoke more calmly. "Remember I told you about him? Well it was him to stabbed Steve in the Abby. And not only has he **_**tried**_** to kill my brother, but he did actually kill Mikey the other day. Killed him, in cold blood without so much as a second thought. He smashed his face in so fucking badly with a crow bar that they had to identify him using his fucking dental records, Allie."**

**Allie felt tears sting her eyes as she shook her head, feeling sick to her stomach with every word he was saying. **

"**Why are you doing this?" she whispered, shaking her head as a tear escaped her eye. **

"**To prove the point that you should take a fucking leaf out of Shannon's book and leave," Pete shouted. "Because things are about to get very fucking nasty and if anything happened to you…"**

"**Don't fucking make this about me," she shot back at him, wiping a few tears away with the back of her hand. "This is about you. I'm here, ok? I **_**want**_** to stay with you, but you're telling me to leave. How much of a coward does that make you? You think fighting makes you brave, Pete? Well it doesn't, all it does is make you look like a fucking idiot." **

"**And was exactly is it that you know about the GSE?" He snarled at her. **

"**I know that it's going to get you killed if you keep going like this," she shouted. "Because that's the plan isn't it? You're going to get even with Tommy for what he did to Steve. You're willing to fight a man who you know is capable of murdering someone just to save face."**

"**I'm the Major," he shouted back at her, flinging a magazine across the room and knocking over one of the plants by the window. **

"_**No you're not**_**!" she screamed. "That's not who you are, Pete so why the fuck can't you see that? It's a reputation you have, a stupid, pointless reputation all for the sake of a game! Dave, Swill, Matt, Ike, all the boys…you think they're friends with you because you're the Major?" she looked him dead in the eye. "Do you think I fell in love with you because you're the Major of the GSE? Someone's dead Pete, and your brother's in intensive care…why isn't any of that triggering off the alarm bells in your head?" **

**Pete stared at her for a long moment, watching the tears fall silently down her cheeks. Alarm bells? Try fucking air raid sirens…but the fear wasn't about to stop him going after Tommy, someone had to eventually. **

"**Fuck!" he screamed, slamming his hand against the wall over the fireplace hard enough to send several photos flying to the ground. Allie watched him pacing like a wild animal and slid down the wall, dropping her head into her hands and giving up any attempt at muffling her sobs as she cried harder than ever had since her mother had died. **

**Pete turned to face her and felt his own throat tighten as he watched her cry her heart out because of him. She was sobbing so hard that he actually worried she might be sick. Walking over to her, he reached down and gently pulled her to her feet, holding her chin and forcing her to look at him. **

"**You have to go home," he told her, trying to keep his voice as steady as he possibly could. "I'll call Harry, he can come and get you, make sure you get home safe."**

**Allie's bright green eyes widened and she shook her head, her eyes clouding over with more tears blurring her vision so badly that she very nearly missed the moment when her hand shot up and hit Pete hard across the face. He jerked his head back around to meet her, his eyes glazed with anger and confusion. **

"**Who the fuck do you think you are exactly?" she shouted at him forcefully. "I have been through hell and back the last few hours so don't you dare stand there and order me to leave,"**

"**Are you that fucking thick?" he shouted back at her. "I'm not asking you to go for me; I'm doing it for you. So that you don't have to put up with this anymore," he looked at her, ignoring the severe stinging in his cheek and shook his head. "I'm doing it because I love you."**

"**Bullshit!" she snarled. "You're doing this because you're a selfish bastard," Allie pushed him away from her hard. "You don't love me."**

**Something snapped inside Pete and before he knew what he was doing, he had her pinned back against the wall, his body effectively trapping her there, ignoring the slight whimper of pain she gave when he pinned her wrists either side of her head. **

"**You can call me a coward," he told her through gritted teeth. "You can hit me and call me all the names under the sun, but don't you **_**ever **_**fucking tell me that I don't love you because we both know that I do. I love you more than I thought it was possible to love someone, and I'll be fucked if I'm going to let you of all people tell me otherwise."**

"**Then prove it!" she shot back. "Christ, Pete rats in mazes can learn from their mistakes so why can't you?"**

"**He tried to kill my brother!" Pete shouted at her, his patience flaring again. **

"**So do what normal people would do and call the bloody police!" she begged.**

"**Your family's fucking perfect," he spat at her. "I don't expect you to understand,"**

**Allie stared back at him for a moment, struggling to breathe with him so close to her, so close that she swore she could feel his heart beating against her own.**

"**Perfect?" she whispered. "It's not about being perfect Pete, it's about drawing the line between loyalty and stupidity and realising that you're not invincible."**

**They stared at each other in silence for a moment, the air between them feeling heavy and thick. **

"**I love you too much to walk away, so don't ask me to leave," she whispered cursing silently as yet more tears made their way down her face. "Please, Pete."**

**Allie had no idea which one of them had moved first, but suddenly his mouth was on hers, hot, panicked and demanding as he let go of her wrists and grabbed onto her hips instead, his body pushing hers against the wall with an almost bruising force. Just when he worried he might have been being too rough with her, Allie used the little space she had in between him and the wall to jump up slightly, wrapping her legs around his waist and pulling his shirt up over his head. He moaned gruffly when she scrapped her nails over his chest, her mouth moving along his neck as he pulled her t-shirt off, ignoring the ripping sound as he flung it to the floor before reaching for her belt and then his own. **

**Allie brought his mouth back to hers, kissing him hard as he pulled back enough from her just enough to let her jeans slip down her legs while he kicked off his own and then crying out his name when he took the final step and joined his body with hers. **

**It was panicked, hurried movements and scared touches, both of them too lost in the moment, too petrified of the thoughts and implications of what was truly happening around them to do anything other than concentrate on the feel of the others body. **

**Feeling the familiar wave of pleasure slam through her body, Allie pulled away from Pete's mouth and bit down hard on his shoulder, his name coming out as a muffled cry as she closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of his skin; her fogged brain was somewhat aware of Pete shouting her own name a few seconds later, his body going slack against hers as he pressed soft, lazy kisses against her collar bone. **

**Falling away from the wall and onto the sofa, Pete wrapped the throw around her, his hands coming to rest on her back, rubbing small circles on the skin with his fingertips as they both stared out the window at the moonlit London night. **

"**I'm sorry," Pete whispered, picking up one of her wrists and seeing the slight red mark where he had grabbed her. Kissing it lightly, he watched as Allie tilted her head up so that she was looking at him, her breath still coming out in harsh pants, her green eyes fighting to stay open as the fatigue swept through her body. She smiled weakly at him and reached up to brush her fingers over the red mark on his cheek where she had hit him. Bending her head back down, the placed a kiss over where she could feel his heart beating and closed her eyes. **

"**Please don't leave me," she whispered against his chest. **

**Pete closed his eyes for a long moment, he ignored the tears that streamed down the side of his face, determined to keep his breathing under control so that Allie would be none the wiser. **

"**I won't," he promised, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. **

"**Do you promise?" **

**Pete stared into the darkness for a few seconds, feeling her chest rise and fall above his, the softness of her skin, the shaky breaths which she drew as she obviously tried not to keep crying. In the three years he had been with Allie, Pete had never been completely truthful with her when it came to the GSE, always afraid that one day she would realise what a monster he truly was and walk away. So he had kept her with him by lying to her, twisting the events which had led up to the various scars and bruises on his body to keep her mind at bay. It was only one more lie…and it was to keep her safe. **

"**I promise,"**

**It was only one more lie…and it was to keep her safe. **

**So why was it almost killing him to say it to her?**

* * *

**Pete pulled the duvet up over Allie's shoulders and gently brushed her hair to one side as she slept soundly. Once he was certain that she had fallen asleep on the sofa, Pete had carried her into the bedroom and stayed with her all night, even though he himself didn't sleep a wink. Too much was going on inside his brain; he had to fight Tommy, he knew it…but he also knew the risk it carried with it.**

"**I have to go," he whispered to her sleeping form, smiling slightly when she snuggled deeper into the pillow. "I know that you can't understand why, and I don't expect you to, but I just need you to know how much…" tears started stinging his eyes and he shook his head. "I'll be back soon," **

**Gently kissing her forehead, he pushed himself upright and cast one last glance at her before walking out of the bedroom, closing the door as quietly as he could. **

**Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he flipped it open and grabbed his jacket, pulling it on as he walked towards the front door. **

"**Dave?" **

**Closed the door behind him and walked through the hallway ignoring the nagging voice in the back of his head telling him to turn back and go back to Allie. **

"**You lot ready?" he jogged down the stairs, the first rays of the grim Sunday morning light dancing across the beaten wooden steps. "I'll be there in 5, we're getting this done now."**

* * *

**Allie woke up slowly and stretched her arm out across the bed, expecting Pete to grab it and pull her on top of him as he usually did.**

**Instead she felt…nothing. **

**Snapping her eyes open, she frowned at the empty space beside her. Taking note of the eerie silence echoing through the flat, she jumped out of the bed and her eyes immediately landed on the spot where his jacket had been last night. It was gone, along with his keys. **

**Her stomach twisted in fear and she reached for her phone, dialling his number and then swearing when it went to voicemail. Quickly pulling on her jeans, a plain white t-shirt and grey cardigan, Allie ran out of the front door, trying Pete's phone again as she made her way towards the front door. **

"**Come on," she pleaded, her heart pounding with more than exertion as she jogged towards her car. "Pete, pick up the phone…"**

**Speeding towards Shannon's house, Allie kept the phone in her lap, continuously pressing speed dial and praying to whatever God was up there for him to answer the phone.**

* * *

"**You stupid little hammer bastard," Tommy Hatcher screamed as he pounded his fist into Pete's stomach once more. The younger man writhed below him and coughed up a small amount of blood, turning on his side and choking. Pete shut his eyes tightly and fought the urge to scream; his entire body felt like it was on fire, his chest and his arms ached and he could taste blood in his mouth, strong and coppery. Scanning the crowd, he searched for the boys to make sure that they were ok, he saw Swill getting up off the floor, Ike running with blood pouring from his eye, Dave and Keith pinning a huge older looking man against a wall and attacking him, he could see Matt fighting off a guy who had a smashed bottle in his hand, dangerously near his face.**

"**That the best you got?" Tommy laughed as Pete writhed on the ground, blood pouring out of his mouth as he tried to get back up to his feet. **

**Slamming his foot down on top of Pete's chest, he ignored the scream, instead raising his eyebrows and reaching into Pete's jacket pocket and pulled out his phone which had been ringing incessantly for the past few minutes. **

"**Allie," he smirked at the screen. "Your little bit of pink got a name, eh Dunham?"**

**Pete spat at him, rolling onto his side once more and trying in vain to pull himself up. **

"**Should I answer it?" Tommy laughed. "She's a pretty little thing, ain't she? Back when I was using that stupid little cunt, Mikey I saw her a couple of times. It would seem you Dunham boys have done alright; I figured she'd be a right little whore,"**

"**You fucking talk about her again," Pete warned his voice barely there as he finally managed to stand up, glaring at the other man. **

"**And what?" Tommy smiled. "You reckon you could protect her from me do you? You couldn't even stop a stupid fuck like Mikey from getting to her, could you Petey?" he winked. "Although personally, I would have done a more thorough job on her, a little piece like that? It'd be a shame to let her go throw her out without having a little taste, wouldn't it now?"**

"**At least I was there," Pete snapped, spitting anther mouthful of blood onto the floor. "Where were you when you're son was getting his fucking head bashed in?"**

**Tommy stopped dead and looked at the younger man with what Pete could only describe as pure hatred and insanity in his eyes as he advanced on him again. **

"**Don't you talk about my fucking son!" he screamed. **

"**He was a kid, Tommy, what the fuck was he doing at a match to begin with?" Pete shook his head. "And you let him die. It was **_**you**_** who killed him, not the GSE, and you fucking know it, don't you?"**

"**Shut up you little Hammer cunt!" Tommy screamed, picking up a brick and slamming it against the side of Pete's head. **

**Everything seemed to fall into slow motion as Pete hit the floor, the stinging sensation of blood pouring into his eye as the skin around his temple opened up and his head felt instantly numb. He watched as Tommy stood over him with the brick and knew exactly what was about to happen. **

**Turning his head to the side, he looked at his phone which Tommy had thrown to the ground and saw Allie's name flashing up on the screen. **

**He'd let her down, he'd broken his promise and now he was going to lose her forever. **

**Closing his eyes, he pictured her on the first night they met, her strapless black dress clinging to her and making her look like some kind of angel as she shouted at him on the steps of the tube station. And then every moment after that; the look she would get right before he kissed her, the way her body felt under his, the way his name sounded on her lips, the sound of her ridiculous giggle as she played pool with him and the boys, the complete and utter ease with which she would say 'I love you,'. **

**She was perfect, and for a brief moment, she had been his. And not many men at the age of 24 could claim that they had achieved perfection. **

**Her smile was the last thing Pete Dunham saw before the brick came back down and everything went still.**

* * *

"**Shannon!" Allie screamed, pounding on the glass door. "Matt! Open the fucking door!"**

**She watched as Shannon ran towards her, pulling the door open and looking at her with a mixture of annoyance and concern. Not bothering to step inside or even ask if Steve was still alive, she looked up into the older woman's eyes and took a deep breath. **

"**Is Matt here?" she rushed. **

"**No," Shannon shook her head. "But I need to find him, Allie I think he went to that fight."**

**Allie's stomach dropped and she closed her eyes for a second, trying to get the wave of unexplained nausea under control; the fear sweeping through her system was making her feel dizzy.**

"**Where is it?" she demanded. **

"**Matt was talking about a Warf," Shannon shook her head. **

"**Trinity Warf," Allie blurted out, hating herself for not realising sooner; she had heard the boys mention it last night, but then with everything that had happened between her and Pete last night, she had forgotten. Turning and running back towards her car, Allie didn't bother stopping when Shannon called her name. She needed to find Pete, that was her only priority; why the hell had she fallen asleep last night? She had known, even in her sleep that Pete was awake, the quick rise and fall of his chest beneath hers, the movement of his hands along her back should have told her that something was wrong. **

**Pulling into Trinity Warf, she slammed her brakes and bolted out of the car, not caring that she had left the door open or the engine running. **

**She stood there for a second frozen to the spot as she took in the carnage before her. Everywhere she looked there was blood, and the shouts of the men were so deafening that she flinched slightly. **

**She scanned the sea of violence and eventually spotted Pete lying on the ground with a much older man above him, hitting him over and over again. Without thinking, she ran straight into the fray, ducking through the various fights going on around her; she had to get to Pete and Matt and get them out of here. She didn't let herself think about what would happen if she didn't. **

**And so she kept pushing forward; it would only take her a few seconds to get to where Pete was, but she had a feeling that they would be the longest few seconds of her life. **

"**Pete!" Bovver screamed as he ran towards his best mate, the closest thing he had ever had to a brother and shoved Tommy off. "Get the fuck off of him!"**

"**That's enough!" One of Tommy's boys pulled the older man backward, the bloodied brick falling from his hand as he screamed and cried like a child.**

**Bovver gently shook Pete's shoulder and sobbed when his hand came away covered in blood; his face was barely recognisable, the blood flowing from his head enveloping both of them as they sat in the dirt. **

"**Somebody fucking help him!" Bovver shouted. "Call an ambulance!" **

"**Pete!" **

**The barrage of men turned in the direction of the blood curdling scream and saw a young woman running full pelt towards them, her blonde hair fanning out behind her as she crashed to her knees next to the body. **

"**No!" Allie screamed, shaking her head. "What the fuck did you do to him?" she shoved Bovver away with every ounce of strength she had in her. "Pete!" she touched his face. "Wake up, baby, please, come on."**

**Sobbing, she laid her hand against his chest and cried out as though in agony when she realised that he wasn't breathing. Oh God, no…she pleaded. Please, anything but this…**

"**Baby, please," she sobbed harder, thumping her hand against his chest. "Please, Pete. Wake up," she waited for a response from him and screamed when there was nothing. "Wake up!" **

"**Allie," she felt a hand on her shoulder and heard Dave whispering in her ear. Turning, she saw the paramedics running towards them and fell back into the man behind her as they began thumping on Pete's chest the way she had been, tilting his head back and pushing a long tube down into his throat. **

"**There's no output," one of them mumbled a moment later and they stopped compressions. **

"**No!" Allie screamed, fighting out of Dave's arms and dropping to her knees next to them. "Keep trying," she begged, her body feeling like it was shutting down as she realised what it was that she was asking them.**

_**Please don't say he's dead…**_

"**Please," she sobbed. "He'll fight this," she nodded quickly. "I know he will, I know him, he won't…he won't give up."**

**The paramedic shook his head and placed a hand on her shoulder at which point Allie began shaking her head and shaking uncontrollably. **

"**I'm sorry, there's nothing more we can do."**

"**No," she whispered. "No, no, no, no, NO!" the last one came out as a scream, and the familiar pain from the last week or so sliced through her stomach again, making her wince. **

**Pete was dead…her Pete was…**

**Everything seemed to start moving even though Allie knew she was standing still; her breathing quickened its pace and every limb seemed to get too weak to hold her up any longer. Closing her eyes, she wondered briefly what the beeping noise was that echoed through her ears, her heart pounding as her eyes rolled back into her head and she fell to the floor, praying to God that the last few words she heard before her world went black weren't a figment of her imagination. **

_"**We have a pulse…"**_


	32. Chapter 32

_Over 100 reviews! Woo-Hoo! Honestly, I can't even begin to thank you guys enough for the amazing reviews you left on the last chapter. I was so overwhelmed to know I almost made some of you cry:D Anyway, I promised a post on Thursday and given I kind of left you hanging I thought I'd be kind...so much for the no more OCD:P_

"**Miss Harding?"**

**Allie mumbled something incoherent, forcing her eyes open and squinting at the glare of white light directly above her. The oxygen mask over her face was pulled too tight and as she opened her mouth to speak, the fraying elastic pinched her cheeks. **

"**How are you feeling sweetheart?" one of the nurses asked her with a small smile as she gently removed the mask and brushed some hair off of her forehead. **

**Suddenly it hit her; she was in hospital, the fight, **_**Pete**_**…**

"**Whoa there," the nurse frowned as Allie began struggling with the drip coming out of her arm and trying to sit up. "You're not going anywhere," she shook her head. "You had a pretty nasty fall so I need you to just stay in bed, ok honey?"**

"**Pete," she whispered hoarsely, tears streaming down her face. "He's gone," she clutched her stomach as the pain ripped through it again. "Oh my God, he's…"**

"**Allie," the nurse pulled her head back so that she was looking into her eyes. "Are you in pain?"**

"**You need to let me go," she sobbed. "I need to see him," **

**Without so much as a second thought, Allie reached down and ripped the IV line out of her arm, ignoring the unwelcome spray of blood and saline that spilled onto the floor. **

"**Right, get me a sedative now!" the nurse shouted, pinning Allie's arms back to the bed. "Ok, sweetie, I need you to lie back,"**

"**No!" Allie shouted. "Just let me go,"**

"**It'll be ok; we're just going to give you something to relax," **

**Turning her head to the other side, she looked at Lara whose hand was locked in hers, tears streaming down her face as she glanced worriedly at the host of machines next to bed. **

"**Lara," she whispered, clearing her throat she winced at the pain in her arm and vaguely registered that it hadn't been particularly wise to rip out the IV line. "Help me," she begged. "Tell them to let me go,"**

**Feeling tears burning her eyes as she looked at her best friend of fifteen years looking so lost and desperate, just like she had the morning her mother had died. **

"**Allie, its ok, honey," Lara whimpered reaching for her hand and squeezing her fingers. **

"**Where's Pete?" Allie interrupted. **

**Lara looked up at her, tears gathering rapidly in her deep brown eyes as she shook her head and reached out to touch Allie's face. **

"**Sweetie-…"**

"**Where is he?" Allie demanded again, her voice slightly louder as she pulled herself upright in the bed. "Is he ok?" she sobbed and shook Lara's arm. "Please, you have to tell me, I can't-…" Shaking her head, Allie scrambled off of the bed and stumbled into the side table, her body still not functioning properly. Ignoring Lara's and the doctors' desperate calls, she ran out into the hallway her bare feet absorbing the coldness of the icy tiles as she padded along, not paying attention to the horrified looks she was getting and looking down she realised she was still wearing her white t-shirt which was saturated in Pete's blood. **

**Spotting Bovver and the rest of the boys at the end of the hallway, she broke into a run and stopped just short of the large window they were gathered outside of. **

**Peering in, she saw the lifeless figure lying in the middle of the bed, the white linen sheets turning a sickly crimson as he bled. She couldn't see his face, only the large breathing apparatus over it, the various machines around his bed and the constant beep of the heart monitor being the only palpable evidence that he was still alive. **

"**Oh my God," Allie whispered, her breath hitching in her throat as she brought her shaking hands up to her face and shook her head. **

**As though sensing she was there, Bovver turned to face her and met her eyes. The utter despair in them was so vivid that he wanted to reach out and take her hand, promise her everything would be alright…but he couldn't. **

"**Get out," she whispered menacingly as tears began pouring down her face. **

"**Allie," Bovver stepped forward, his voice cracking with emotion. **

"**I said get out," she cried, running forward and slamming her hands against his chest. "Leave him alone! You let this happen!" she screamed, hitting him repeatedly as hard as she could manage. "You did this to him! You should have protected him you selfish son of a bitch! If you were any kind of a fucking man you would have stopped him going!" **

**A pair of arms came around her waist and she was pulled off of the ground slightly, the person behind her holding her arms tightly as she struggled against them. **

"**Stop it!" she screamed, kicking her feet like a child. "It should be you in there dying, not him! He would have never left you!" **

"**Allie!" Harry shouted, holding her tighter against his chest and trying to still her movements. "Allie, it's me. It's ok," he smoothed her hair back from her face. "Everything will be ok," **

**Allie collapsed against him, her feet giving out from underneath her as she sobbed so hard that her chest began to hurt. Lara stood watching from the doorway of Allie's room, tears streaming down her own face as she watched her best friend fall apart. **

"**I have to see him," she sobbed against Harry's chest. "Oh God, Harry what if I lose him? What if he doesn't wake up?" **

"**Shhhh," he told her, holding her tightly and ignoring the tears that were rolling down his own face. "We need to get you back to bed," he whispered. **

"**No," she sobbed. "I need to be here. I need to be here,"**

**Shaking her head, she looked down and focused on the blood on her shirt; it was under her nails, in her hair…it was Pete's life, his life which was slowly slipping away and there was nothing she could do about it. Unable to stop herself, Allie vomited onto the floor, her body protesting at the sharp movements. **

"**Nurse!" Harry shouted, pulling her hair back and watching as his baby sister coughed and sobbed before being sick again. **

"**Come on darlin'," a middle aged woman with faded red hair and a slight Irish lilt to her voice took Allie by the arm and led her back down the hall towards her room. "Let's get you a nice hot cup of tea, eh?"**

**Harry watched her go and then turned back to the group of men who were staring at him with a mixture of guilt and anguish. He knew that Allie was their friend just as much as Pete was, and to see her in that kind of pain couldn't have been easy for them. **

"**Harry, mate-…" Dave stepped forward and reached out to place a hand on his shoulder.**

"**You stay the fuck away from my sister, you understand?" he spoke through gritted teeth as he looked at Bovver and then back at Dave. "And I mean all of you."**

**With that, he turned and walked back down the hall, reaching Allie's door and closing it firmly behind him. **

* * *

**Allie shut the door behind her as quietly as she could, stepping hesitantly into the dimly lit room. He was the only one in here, a lone bed sat in the middle of the small, airless room; the machines either side of his bed working overtime to keep him in the world of the not-quite-dead. **

**It had taken a day and a half to convince the head nurse that she was well enough to leave her bed and walk the 15feet down the hall to Pete's room. They had told her that his operation had gone as well as could be expected given the amount of internal damage he had suffered, but they were still almost certain that he would never wake up. Approaching the bed slowly, Allie bit her lip when she looked at his face. **

**His eyes were bruised to the point where even if they had been open, she wouldn't have been able to tell; a large bandage was wrapped around the whole of his head and she could see the top of the stitches peeking out from the top of it. **

**A tube protruded from his chest and she recalled how the doctors had informed her that he had punctured both of his lungs as a result of having his ribs broken; the huge piece of gauze which was covering most of his stomach after his operation had turned a faint shade of pink where the stitches lay beneath it. **

**Too afraid to touch him, Allie simply stood there looking down at him, never taking her eyes of the rise and fall of his chest, making sure he was still there. **

"**You can't hear me," she whispered. "But I'm going to talk anyway." She smiled weakly as a tear escaped from her eye. "Same as usual then, I suppose."**

"**Why did you have to do this?" she sobbed suddenly. "You looked me in the eye last night and you swore you'd never leave me… why didn't you wake me up this morning?" she cried. "I know you think I would have stopped you, and I would have, but…you never let me say goodbye and now if something happens," Allie shook her head, wiping the tears off of her face with shaking hands. "I'm so scared, Pete because they keep telling me that you're…I need you to wake up, ok?" she smiled and reached out, placing a gentle hand on his arm. "Or just squeeze my fingers," she begged him, waiting for some kind of response. **

**There was nothing. **

"**Well the jokes on you because I'm going to sit here until you wake up," she nodded to herself. "I don't care if it takes me 20 years, Dunham because you made me a promise," she looked down at her engagement ring and laughed softly through her tears. "See the way I see it is that I owe you this," she explained. "I know you think its stupid, but I believe in fate. I mean just look at how we met…I didn't have to get on that train, but I did and you were there and you saved me."**

**Allie sobbed again and pressed her forehead against the back of his hand. **

"**So now I figure its my turn to save you, but I kind of need to you to play ball, otherwise I'm just the crazy lady with the head wound taking to the hot coma bloke in room 281." **

**Her tears began choking her and she gulped, trying to get as much air into her lungs as she possibly could before she fell apart completely. **

"**I'm going to stay here tonight, ok?" she whispered, brushing his cheek tentatively and avoiding the tubes coming out of his mouth along with the bandages. "I don't want you to be alone."**

**Laying her head down on the bed next to where she was still holding his hand in hers, Allie hoped that there was some chance this was just a horrible nightmare that she would wake up from and turn around to find Pete lying next to her, his bright blue eyes and sleepy smile making her forget that there was anything beyond the bedroom. That was it; she thought with a laugh, this was all a dream. **

**However when she opened her eyes a short few hours later, she was still in the hospital, Pete was still lying motionless next to her and she was still very much awake. **

* * *

"**What we're dealing with here is a stage 3 coma," **

**Allie looked up at the young man who had introduced himself as a Dr. Ahern as he sat opposite her in Pete's room. The accident had been over a week ago now and it was beginning to surface in the newspapers yet despite all the attention it was getting, Tommy Hatcher was still yet to be found. But right now that wasn't something she could bring herself to think about.**

"**Stage 3?" Allie repeated, shaking her head. She hated the fact that all the doctors spoke in medical gibberish, making her feel completely stupid on top of everything else. **

"**There's something called the Glasgow Come Score," Dr Ahern leant his arms on the table and smiled at her apologetically. "I'm sorry; I know this is a lot to have thrown at you."**

"**No, it's fine," Allie smiled at him. "I just…" she sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Sorry, please go on,"**

"**Right, well this 'score' is on a scale of 1 to 15 and its how we measure the severity of a coma caused by head injuries," he placed his pen at one end of the small table. "The pen is at 15, this is you, a normal, wide awake person who can handle commands, has eye, verbal and motor reactions,"**

"**This," he pushed Allie's empty coffee cup to the other end of the table. "Is at 1, now 1 is pretty much worst case scenario, there's zero brain activity, no response of any kind, it's what is commonly referred to as the vegetative state,"**

"**Where's Pete on this scale?" she gestured to the table. "Is he the pen or the cup?"**

"**He's currently at 3," Dr Ahern noted the horror in the young woman's eyes and spoke quickly, eager for her to understand the situation in depth. "Pete is showing definite signs of brain activity, in fact his CAT scans suggest that he is very much 'there' if you will," he sighed. "But he's suffered a substantial blood loss, along with his internal injuries," **

**Allie focused her gaze on the table top, staring at the pen with tears in her eyes. **

_**Stupid fucking pen with its active brain functions. **_

"**What's the recovery rate of someone in this stage 3 thing?" she asked quietly, folding her hands neatly in her lap and feeling like a child. Glancing up at the young man, she knew in that instant that she wasn't going to get the response she wanted. **

"**We're going to do everything we can." He promised her firmly. "He's in good hands; you know we have some of the most credited specialists in the world working on Pete's case… "**

"**But what you're telling me is," Allie frowned and shook her head. "That their plan of action is to sit around and wait?"**

"**Miss Harding," he sighed sadly. "I wish I could tell you that I know what's going to happen with Pete's condition, but there's no way of knowing. All we can do is make him comfortable and monitor him as closely as possible."**

**Gently squeezing her shoulder, Dr Ahern gathered his folder and then stood up, walking towards the door and almost bumping into Lara who bounded in with a huge bouquet of flowers and a CD player. **

"**You slept here again," she raised an eyebrow at Allie who simply shrugged in return; it was a statement and not a question so what was the point in answering her. **

"**What's with the…" Allie trailed off, gesturing to the CD player Lara had placed on the table. **

"**Oh, well," she smiled. "Check me out, I was doing some reading on coma patients and apparently music is a huge stimulant for the brain so I thought if…"**

"**If we blared enough Wu-Tang Clan and Oasis into his ears, he'll wake up?" Allie finished for her, feeling a smile tugging at her lips. **

"**And they say you need a PhD for this bollocks," Lara scoffed rolling her eyes and handing Allie a fresh cup of coffee. Looking the blonde woman over, she frowned at how small she seemed to have gotten in just a week. **

"**How are you feeling?" she asked quietly. **

"**Me?" Allie shrugged. "I'm fine, why?"**

"**How about because for the last week and a half you've been a poster child for vomiting as an Olympic Sport?" Lara shrugged. "Allie, you ended up in hospital on a drip for three days or have you forgotten?" **

"**They said that I was just exhausted," she protested. "It's nothing major,"**

"**Not now it's not," Lara nodded. "But you're not sleeping, you're barely eating and yet you're still getting sick, what does that tell you?"**

"**That everyone will assume I'm bulimic?" she joked, rolling her eyes when Lara glared at her harshly. **

"**I'm not laughing kiddo," she shook her head and pushed a McDonald's bag towards her. "It's gross, it's full of fat and it's blatantly not 100 chicken," she pointed at Allie. "Now eat it."**

**Knowing better than to argue, Allie pulled out the still hot fries and began wolfing them down, her body suddenly craving the little nutrition the meal was producing. **

"**He looks a little better," Lara told her, gently running a finger down his cheek and noting that the blackness around his eyes had lessened considerably since she saw him two days ago. **

"**He'll wake up soon." Allie told her, popping a chicken nugget into her mouth and pretending not to see the look Lara gave her. **

"**Allie…" Lara shook her head gently. **

"**Why does everyone look at me like I'm a bloody lunatic when I say that?" she laughed bitterly. "I read about some guy who woke up from a 20 year coma, and he was fine,"**

"**I know sweetie," Lara walked around the bed and crouched in front of Allie. "But all I'm saying is you need to be prepared that there is a possibility that he **_**won't**_** wake up,"**

**Allie looked down into her chocolate coloured eyes and shook her head, her hands gripping the edge of the chair so tightly that she was waiting for her bones to snap. **

"**I can't think about that, Lara." She whispered. "Because if I lose him…"**

**She trailed off and took a deep breath, trying to compose herself enough so that she didn't fall apart again, just as she had done every day this week. It was almost becoming routine now: wake up with stomach and backache, vomit for half an hour, cry, vomit more, and stare at Pete for a few hours, followed naturally by yet more vomiting. **

"**He'll wake up," she nodded firmly and reached out, picking up his limp hand and kissing it gently. "He'll wake up."**


	33. Chapter 33

**TWO WEEKS LATER**

**Allie bit her lip as she stared into the vending machine, trying to figure out exactly what her stomach would be willing to keep down this morning. Landing on the jumbo sized bar of Bounty, she felt her mouth start watering and frowned; she had hated coconut since she was a little girl, yet here she was practically drooling on the glass at the very thought of it. **

"**Have you not got enough money?" **

**Allie jumped slightly and turned to see Dave stood next to her, casually sifting through the pile of change in his hand as he too stared into the vending machine. She hadn't spoken to him or any of the boys since the accident had happened two weeks back. He looked awful. **

"**Fuck me," he squinted. "**_**How**_** much for a Kit-Kat? Christ, I'm supposed to be getting Ike's as well…Do you reckon it takes cards?" he asked her with a wry grin. He looked at her for a long moment, his dark eyes probing her green ones, trying to figure out what was going on in her head. "How're you doing, kiddo?"**

"**I'm ok," Allie nodded, pulling at the sleeves of her sweater and smiling weakly at him. "Listen," she sighed. "Harry told me what he said to you that day in the hallway and I just want you to know-…"**

"**You're his little sister," Dave shook his head. "If I had one, I'd have done the same thing. He was just looking out for you,"**

"**He wasn't the only one shooting his mouth off though, was he?" she asked shaking her head and recalling the things she had said to them.**

"**I let Pete down, Allie," Dave snorted. "He's the best mate I've ever had, the closest thing I've got to a little brother. And I should have protected him, I should have done more…" he shook his head. "I let you both down, and I'm so fucking sorry."**

**Allie looked up at him with tears in her eyes and nodded slowly, slightly taken aback when he grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug. She returned it full force, very nearly gasping when she felt his body shaking and realised he was crying. **

**Pulling away after a moment, Dave smiled at her and bashfully wiped his eyes. **

"**You haven't let anyone down," Allie shook her head and rubbed his shoulder. "Least of all me,"**

"**You reckon?" Dave scoffed, knowing that she was just being nice. **

"**You're here, aren't you?" she tilted her head to one side and smiled at him before turning back to the vending machine and taking a deep breath. "Although if you decided you wanted to buy me some breakfast, I wouldn't say no,"**

"**Alright," Dave laughed. "What are you having?"**

"**I've got a real craving for some Bounty," she told him, laughing at his look of disgust. "Yeah, I know, but I really fancy it for some reason."**

"**Right then," Dave nodded popping some coins into the machine. "Bounty it is."**

"**And then I'm going back down to Pete's room," she informed him watching the chocolate bar slide out of the bracket and down into the bottom of the machine. **

"**Do you want to keep me company?" she asked, watching the shock etch over his features. "I get the feeling that even in his sleep he's getting sick of my voice."**

"**Yeah," Dave nodded, grinning at her as he bent down and handed her the bar of chocolate. "I'd love to."**

* * *

**Dave paused slightly when he stepped into the room, his heart pounding when he saw Pete lying on the bed, completely still, almost as though he was…**

"**Have you seen Steve at all?" Allie's voice pulled him out of his dark thoughts and he looked at her as she sat down next to the bed and gently took Pete's hand. **

"**Uh, not really," he told her, taking a seat on the opposite side of the bed. "Shannon isn't our biggest fan either," **

"**Join the club," Allie snorted, shaking her head. Seeing the look of confusion Dave gave her, she sighed. "When she tried to leave a few weeks ago, just after Steve had the accident, I had an argument with her; I told her that she was selfish by leaving."**

"**That doesn't exactly sound like a reason to stop her talking to you," he frowned. **

"**It does when you attach the words 'you self-centred, silly, American bitch' onto the front of it," she shrugged as Dave laughed, leaning on the bed and trying not to let his eyes linger on the tubes coming out of Pete's hands. **

"**Do you think he can hear us?" he asked her, feeling more than a little stupid. **

"**I hope so," she nodded, reaching up and stroking Pete's still slightly bruised face. "I know it sounds stupid but I hate the idea of him being alone in here." **

"**What've they said about him…" Dave gestured to Pete's head which was still bandaged. "When he wakes up?"**

"_**If**_**," Allie looked up at him sadly, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. "They're saying it's a question of **_**if**_** he wakes up."**

"**Do you think he will?" **

**Allie took a deep breath and looked at Pete's face, the steady rise and fall of his chest, the slight blackness of the skin beneath his eyes. **

"**Why did you do it?" she whispered, not taking her eyes off him, but Dave knew the question is directed at him. "I mean, what did it prove?"**

"**Allie," he crouched down in front of her and shook his head. "If any of us thought that something like this would happen…"**

"**What were you expecting?" she laughed bitterly. "Dave, you knew what this man was capable of…look at Steve for God sake! How could you let him…" Allie shook her head and sighed. "I'm sorry," she ran a hand through her hair. "I shouldn't be putting all of this on you; it's not your fault."**

"**It's not Pete's either," he explained softly. "Imagine if it was Harry that got hurt, Allie. Are you telling me you wouldn't want to get them back?"**

"**Get them back?" Allie cried. "No Dave, I wouldn't, and you know why? Because I'm not 12 and we're not in the damn playground! Do you realise how close he is to not pulling through this?"**

"**Allie, I'm so sorry, I don't know what else to say," he shrugged and flopped down in the chair next to her. They sat in silence for a moment before Dave started laughing. Allie looked at him as though he was mad.**

"**I was just thinking what Pete would have to say if he knew they'd made him wear this?" Dave picked up his friends wrist and gestured to the pink wrist band with his name and birthday on it. Unable to help herself, Allie giggled and then cocked her head to one side. **

"**I don't know," she grinned. "Remember the night of his birthday when he passed out on the sofa and I painted his toenails bright red? He didn't take it off for a whole 2 days…I think he might have been getting used to it."**

**Dave snorted and leant forward, leaning his elbows on his knees. **

"**He loves you a silly amount, you know that don't you?" **

"**Yeah," Allie smiled, ignoring the lump that formed in her throat. "I know he does."**

"**First night we met you," Dave laughed and rubbed his chin. "Christ, he wouldn't shut up about you. I think that's how we knew the poor bastard was in trouble…he had all the classic signs of a doomed man."**

**Allie laughed and rolled her eyes. **

"**I'm sure," she told him. **

"**Pete wasn't the only one who changed the night we met you, Allie," Dave reached out and took her free hand. "It's a fucking sad day when a 27 year-old man has to say that a poncy Sloane Square bird is one of his best mates, but you are,"**

**Allie stared at him in shock as he laughed, shaking his head and looking down at the floor so she couldn't see the tears in his eyes. **

"**We all miss you, kiddo," he smiled weakly at her. "Just…I know you're pissed off at us, but don't for a second think that that doesn't mean we won't be here the second you need us, ok?"**

**Allie smiled at him and nodded, realising how similar he was to Harry; they both wanted the best for her and they would both do anything to protect her. **

"**So I'm really one of your best mates?" She sniffed, rubbing the tears out of her eyes. **

"**You're not going to let me forget that, are you?" Dave smirked. **

"**No, I'll let that go," she grinned. "What I do want to know however is that if I'm one of your best mates, why you chose to give me a scented candle for my birthday?"**

"**Oi," Dave laughed. "Don't forget about the giant bar of Toblerone!" **

"**Oh yeah, because you're a pilot who goes to the airport everyday, I mean that must have been so hard to get," she giggled as he gasped in horror and clutched his heart. **

"**I'll make up for it with your wedding present," he bargained, cursing himself when he noticed the glow that had temporarily returned to her eyes blink out once more. **

_**If there is a wedding **_**she thought glumly. One of the conditions of those things was that the groom usually had to be alive, or at least awake. **

"**May's not that far off," he continued. "What've you got set?"**

"**Nothing," Allie shook her head. **

"**Bollocks," Dave laughed. "You're a bird, you have stuff like this stored in your brain from birth,"**

"**You don't want to hear any of it," Allie giggled. **

"'**Course I do," he leant back in his chair and clasped his hands over his stomach. "Let's have it,"**

"**Well," Allie gripped Pete's hand a little harder and wondered if he really could hear all this. "I have actually seen a dress I like…."**

* * *

"**Allie?" Lara banged on the bathroom door, wincing as she noticed how red her hand was. **

**Allie had been vomiting from the second she woke up, but was refusing to let her in the room. Grimacing when she heard her retch over and over again, she rested her head against the door and closed her eyes. It was almost 10 and she was usually at the hospital by 9 at the latest…oh God, what if something happened while she wasn't there? What if he…. Her train of thought was interrupted as she pushed herself up over the toilet once more and carried on emptying her stomach. **

"**What's going on?" Harry asked, stumbling down stairs as though he had only just rolled out of bed, his light brown hair sticking up in all directions, while he scratched his flat –an in Lara's opinion- rather tempting looking stomach like a common ape. **

"**Allie's been puking her guts up for about an hour and the silly bitch won't open the door," Lara shook her head as she knocked again. **

"**Yeah, by the way Allie's sick, she's not deaf," her voice floated out from beneath the bathroom door. ****Inside the bathroom, Allie flopped back against the wall and took a deep breath; her stomach was in agony from retching for so long and her throat felt like fire. She knew that she only had herself to blame for all of this; with everything that had been going on over the last month, things like eating food that wasn't out of a vending machine and getting more than six hours of sleep a night had become a thing of the past and she was more than aware that it was taking its toll on her body. **

**Glancing at the door where she could still hear Lara and now Harry pounding on it, she spat once more into the toilet before flushing it and stumbling over to the door and flipping the lock open. Immediately Lara burst in, looking at her with concerned eyes. **

"**What the hell happened?" she gasped, taking in her friends' ragged appearance. Since she had known her, Allie had always been the annoying girl who even with a hang over and no make up on managed to look like some kind of movie star, but the pale, slumped looking stranger before her looked nothing like that girl. **

"**I don't know," Allie shook her head, reaching for her toothbrush in a desperate attempt to get rid of the acid in her mouth. "All I ate was that salad you bought me yesterday."**

"**Allie that wasn't fucking yesterday," Lara screeched. "That was three days ago! For fuck sake tell me you've eaten since then?"**

"**I had a Bounty bar yesterday," she told her.**

"**You hate Bounty bars," Harry frowned. **

**Shrugging at his reflection in the mirror, Allie carried on brushing her teeth, pushing her hair back as she leant down to spit into the sink. **

"**Alright, you're going to the doctor," Lara told her, folding her arms. **

"**What?" Allie spun around to face her, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "I can't, Pete's surgeon is coming around to talk to me at 2 and I need to be there,"**

"**Yeah, well I think he'll understand," Harry told her. "You're not going to be much use to the guy if you're dead, Allie-Cat,"**

**Rolling her eyes, Allie knew that with both of them here, she didn't stand a chance, but fuck it, she was going down swinging. **

"**What's the point in going to see a doctor?" she chucked her toothbrush back into the pot. "All they're going to do is tell me that I'm under a lot of stress and to eat proper meals, maybe even buy some vitamins," **

"**Well, you'll find out when you get there," Lara told her smugly before pulling her phone out of her pocket and staring at Allie expectantly. "Well, are you going to tell me the number or am I going to have to guess?"**

**Seeing that Lara was playing the role of bad cop, Allie turned to her brother and looked at him with pleading eyes. **

"**I have to be at that hospital, Harry." she told him seriously. "I can't just leave him,"**

"**You won't," he promised her. "I'll go."**

"**You?" Allie snorted. "I'd be better off sending Ben,"**

"**Look, I'll go and sit with him, I'll even take notes if you want me to," he playfully punched her arm. "Seriously Allie, have you looked in the mirror? You look like shit,"**

**Laughing when she flipped him the finger, Harry draped his arm around her shoulder. **

"**I say it with love," he winked. **

"**Harding, come on, I'm serious," Lara piped up. "I'm not taking no for an answer."**

"**Lara, I'm not-…" the wave of nausea hit her so fast, she barely had time to react as she slid down to the bathroom floor and tried to keep her eyes open. **

"**Allie!" Harry dropped to his knees and pulled his sister upright, cradling her head in his hands. "Fuck the doctors, Lara we're taking her to A&E now,"**

"**Get off," Allie mumbled, pushing his hands aside and frowning when he grabbed her again. "Harry, I'm serious, get off me,"**

"**What the hell is going on with you?" he shouted at her, shaking her shoulders. **

**Lara caught the look on Allie's face and winced, reaching down she gripped Harry's shoulder and tried to pull him back. **

"**Harry-…"**

"**Are you going to help me get her up or what?" he snapped. **

"**I think you need to leave her for the moment," Lara told him. **

"**What?" he scoffed. "What the fuck are you talking about? Look at her, she looks like she's-…"**

**He stopped when Allie gagged again and threw up all over the floor, some of it going on his jeans which thank God he had remembered to put on as he got out of bed. **

"**Fuck!" he shrieked, jumping back and grimacing at the mess on the floor. **

"**I told you to leave her alone," Lara frowned at him, crouching down next to Allie who was shaking her head and groaning in pain. "Hey, it's ok hun. We're going to get you cleaned up and then I'm going to take you to the doctor ok?"**

**Knowing better than to argue, Allie nodded and dropped her head back against the tall cupboard in the bathroom, closing her eyes and willing her body to calm down. **

"**Sorry," she looked up at her brother who shook his head and continued wiping his jeans with a wet towel. **

"**Don't worry about it," he shook his head and then helped her to her feet. "But do you at least understand why we're so adamant you go to a doctor now? This isn't normal, Allie."**

**Too tired to argue with him, Allie simply shrugged and pushed her hair out of her face, her stomach tensing again and she wondered what the hell she had to throw up. **

"**Alright," Lara shoved Harry towards the door. "I'm going to run her a bath, you can sod off for an hour and call the hospital and let them know that she won't be in till later," closing it before he could argue with her, Lara turned back to Allie and smiled. **

"**No," Allie shook her head vehemently. "Pete-…"**

"**Is in a coma," Lara finished for her, spinning her around so that she was looking into the mirror. "And I'm pretty certain that **_**this**_**," she pointed to Allie's reflection. "Isn't going to be the first thing he'll want to see when he wakes up. So come on, out the clothes,"**

**She began running a hot bath, filling it with oils and salts, not a huge believer in all that herbal crap but willing to give anything a chance at this point. **

"**So while you're in here, I'm going to call a doctor," Lara wiped her hands on her jeans and laid a towel out on the side. "Where's the number for your surgery?"**

"**My diary," Allie told her, pulling off her shirt and noting the slight plumpness of her hips that hadn't been there before made the decision that her frequent trips to the vending machine would be a thing of the past. "It's on the dresser."**

"**Ok," Lara nodded. "Just give me a shout when you're done, ok?"**

**Closing the door, Lara stepped into Allie's bedroom and made her way over to her French boudoir desk that sat near the doors to the balcony. Flicking open the light green diary which sat on top, Lara smiled when she saw the photo of Allie and Pete at the last minute engagement party she had thrown them here all those weeks ago back when everything had been normal, and Allie smiled at least 100 times a day; feeling tears sting her eyes, Lara carried on skipping to the back where the phone index was, stopping suddenly and frowning, her eyes glued to the little number circled in red. Doing the math in her head quickly, her eyes widened and she practically flew to the bathroom, shoving the door open and watching as Allie shrieked, pulling as many of the bubbles as she could up around her chest. **

"**Christ, Lara!" she shook her head. "What the hell are you doing?"**

"**When was your last period?" she burst out. **

"**Come again?" Allie raised an eyebrow. **

"**Your period," Lara spoke slowly. "When was your last one?"**

**Frowning, Allie looked down at the bubbles and felt her heart start pounding; with everything going on the last few weeks, she'd kind of forgotten, plus with being on the pill it sometimes made it difficult to…**

"**Allie?" Lara pressed impatiently. **

"**I don't know," Allie shook her head. **

"**Well according to this it was a month ago," Lara held up the diary and pointed to the red circle, noting the slight fear in Allie's eyes as she gripped the side of the bath and stared at the diary, shaking her head slightly. **

"**You're vomiting every day, you get stomach ache, you're craving disgusting chocolate bars…" Lara shook her head and tried not to smile. "Put it together and what have you got…Bibbity-bobbity-baby."**

"**Oh my God," Allie whispered, closing her eyes for a long moment and cursing herself for not thinking of that earlier. Of course, Pete had been in a coma for the last fortnight, but up until then they had been more than…active. **

"**What do we do?" she whispered fearfully. **

"**We get a test kit, take it and most importantly," Lara smiled. "We stay calm."**

* * *

"**How long has it been?" Allie paced the bathroom checking her reflection in the mirror. She was still too pale and the colour was now accentuated by the redness of her lips as a result of a morning of non-stop lip chewing. **

"**Only 20 seconds to go," Lara told her with a frown. "Christ alive Harding, will you sit down? You're making **_**me **_**feel sick." **

"**Ok, when it comes up, just tell me, quickly." Allie stopped pacing and leant against the wall with her eyes tightly shut. "No, don't tell me. Wait, no just hand me the…" Trailing off she dropped her head into her hands and sighed. "Shit."**

"**You're going to be ok, you hear me?" Lara told her from where she was sat on the closed toilet seat. "Whatever happens, it will be ok."**

**Nodding, Allie smiled at her weakly, wanting so badly to believe it but not really able to; her fiancé was in a coma from which most doctors were certain he would never wake which meant that at the age of 24, Allie Harding, the girl voted most likely to change the world in her year book was looking at being a widowed single mother. Fan-fucking-tastic. **

**She was pulled out of her thoughts as the alarm on her phone began echoing through the bathroom and both women looked at each other nervously, not daring to even cast a glance at the small plastic stick in Lara's hand. **

"**That's it?" she whispered. "Has it really been three minutes?"**

"**Apparently so," Lara took a deep breath and then looked down at the small digital screen on the end of the stick, her breath catching in her throat. **

"**So?" Allie took a tentative step towards her with her hands clasped together under her chin.**

**Looking up at her best friend of fifteen years, Lara was unable to repress the gigantic grin which stretched across her face. **

"**Allie, you're pregnant."**

**Allie's hands flew up to her face and she stared at the red head with wide eyes, shaking her head slightly. **

"**Are you sure?" she whispered shakily. **

"**Positive," Lara laughed and then stood up. "You're having a baby!"**

"**I'm having a baby," Allie repeated nodding slowly to herself and then laughing. "I'm having a baby,"**

**Screeching, Lara flung her arms around the petite blonde and hugged her tightly, smiling when she felt Allie holding her back with all the strength she had left in her body. Frowning when she realised Allie was shaking, Lara pulled away and gasped, seeing the young woman in tears. **

"**Hey," she whispered, gently brushing the tears away with her thumb. "Allie-Cat, come on…"**

"**I've pictured this moment a million times in my head," she sobbed. "And in it, Pete was always here. But he's not and he might not ever be here," she shook her head. "I'm having his baby and he might not ever know…"**

"**He will," Lara cupped her face and forced her to meet her eyes. "Allie, you are going to be such an amazing mum, and Pete…" she shook her head. "Is going to be ok, I promise you. And in nine months time when you have this little thing, and you're holding it in your arms, I'm going to remind you of this moment and shout, 'ha, take that biatch, I was right.'"**

**Allie laughed and shook her head lightly, leaning up and kissing Lara's forehead gently. **

"**I love you, do you know that?" she smiled at the girl who had been her sister for the better part of her life. **

"**Of course you love me," she scoffed. "Who the hell doesn't? Now," she took her hand and led her through to the bedroom. "Let's get you looking at least half way human and then I'll take you to the hospital." Leaning over her shoulder as she sat down at her vanity, Lara smiled at her in the mirror. "Congratulations, Allie-Cat," she winked, kissing her head and then running around the bedroom, chattering about baby names and clothes. **

**Allie smiled at her reflection and then closed her eyes trying to imagine the look on Pete's face had he been here and the over excited manner in which he would pick her up and kiss her until she couldn't breathe. Laying a hand over her tummy, she smiled and felt her eyes sting with tears, for the first time in a long time finding herself believing Lara when she told her that everything would be ok.**

* * *

_So there you have it...after a good three chapters of just hinting at it Allie's finally bloody realised she's pregnant...but there's still the matter of Pete being in a coma...hhhmmm...be nice and review and I might just wake him up... :P _


	34. Chapter 34

_ Its the weekend and I'm stuck in my room doing this assigment over the weekend so thought I'd embrace my OCD and be done with it. I'm just waiting for you guys to get sick of all the updates! So enjoy this one (something tells me you will hint hint) thanks for all the reviews on the last one, keep 'em coming! _

"**And look, I bought you the new Zutons album," Allie popped it into the CD player Lara had brought in for Pete a three weeks ago and pressed play sighing in relief when the sound of the music filled the room temporarily covering up the incessant beeping of the various machines around Pete's bed. "You can wear all the Paul Smith clothing you want, I know underneath that hooligan exterior lies a suppressed Indie fan," she joked. **

**The nurses had told her that it was very rare for coma patients to actually hear what was going on around them, but there was no way that was stopping Allie from coming in every day and sitting with Pete. Her biggest fear was that he would wake up, even if only for a second and she wouldn't be there. Perching on the very edge of his bed, Allie reached out and gently touched his face as though trying to convince herself that he was still there, wincing at the faint traces of the bruises and cuts strewn about his body that belied the peaceful slumber he seemed to be in. **

**Picking up the home made card on the table next to his bed, Allie smiled when she saw that it was from the boys in his class all of them telling him to wake up because they didn't want a big pansy like Mr. Ellis leading their team at the big game next month. **

"**Still don't feel like talking to me, huh?" Allie asked him, putting the card back down and shaking back the tears that were gathering in her eyes. "Ok, that's fine. Just means you have to listen to yet another rendition of 'A day in the life of Allie'."**

**Picking up his hand gently, she was careful not to knock any of the tubes that were coming out of it and held it in her lap. **

"**Well, we got the new shipment of Dior lingerie in at work," she smirked at him. "**_**Yes**_**, I stole some, **_**no**_**, it's barely worth wearing because it covers **_**nothing, **_**and I'm actually wearing it right now, so if you wake up I'll be happy to give you a sneak preview." She watched him carefully for a moment before laughing sadly and rolling her eyes. "It was worth a try."**

**Hours passed as they usually did when she was there, ignoring the way her throat protested as she talked non stop for hours on end. Looking down at Pete, she hated the fact that when she wasn't here no one talked to him, everyone else seemed to think that sitting around the bed staring at him would somehow bring him back, well at least she was trying something other than that.**

"**I miss you." She told him shakily, running a finger over his knuckles. "I just really need you to wake up and hug me because I don't think I've ever been this scared in my life," she sobbed and gripped his hand. "See I found out that we're having a baby." She smiled. "You hear that? You're going to be a Dad; and besides you made me a promise, damn it," she held up her hand with her engagement ring on it. "And if this is all an excuse to get out of actually marrying me then I'm too impressed that you went to these lengths to be angry."**

**She laughed, sniffing and wiping away the tears on her cheeks. **

"**You want to know something stupid?" she smiled, trying to ignore the tears in her eyes. "I wake up every morning and for the first seconds I let myself think that when I turn over, you'll be lying beside me with that sleepy smile on your face. And then you're not, and something inside me gets weak and I have to fight to get out of bed at all." Allie sobbed harder, the tears pouring down her face in ceaseless torrents. "Please baby," she begged. "Please open your eyes. Just do it for me, please Pete," **

**Resting her head on the bed, Allie cried until she felt like she was going to be sick, her chest was tight from sobbing and her stomach muscles protested every time she took a breath inward. Exhausted both emotionally and physically, she prayed that she would just fall asleep so she could escape this nightmare for a few hours…**

**Her eyes were just beginning to feel heavy when she heard the door creak open. Glancing over her shoulder, Allie looked up to see Pete's mum Moira creeping in, a bunch of slightly crumpled flowers under her arm. Having lost her own mother when she was so young, Allie had always loved having Moira around; the woman had a heart of pure gold, and as long as she'd been with Pete all she'd ever known her to do was fuss over everyone and make sure they were ok. **

"'**Ello sweetheart," she smiled gently, coming over to stand beside the bed. **

"**Hey," Allie smiled, clasping her hand that landed softly on her shoulder. **

"**How's my boy today?" she put on her best smile and moved to sit on the bed, reaching out and taking Pete's hand. **

"**No change," Allie shook her head. "But look," she smiled, trying to wipe the tears off of her face as discreetly as she could while picking up the card the boys in Pete's class had made him. Allie new how proud Moira was of Pete, of course she was proud of Steve as well, but Pete had put himself through University, spending every waking hour he wasn't studying working at the local sports centre to get all the cash he needed. "Benjamin, Pete's friend from work dropped it off yesterday."**

**Moira stared down at the photograph on the front; one of the other teachers had taken it last sports day, and it showed Pete surrounded by all the boys with more mud on his face than they had on theirs, cheering as they lifted the winner's cup.**

"**Isn't that sweet?" Moira laughed. "Oh I bet they miss 'im," she sighed. "He's so good with them, and I don't know where that came from because even after Ben was born the first thing Steve asked me was 'mum, how do I hold this thing?'"**

**Allie laughed softly and placed the card back on the table. **

"**He'll make an amazing father," Moira looked at her knowingly and Allie smiled, feeling tears stinging her eyes again, knowing that they were both thinking the same thing; **_**will I ever really get to find out?**_

**Allie looked at her for a long moment, watching the tears roll down her face and bit her lip; a huge part of her wanted to tell Moira about the baby, but she couldn't. Not with Pete still like this.**

"**You know something?" Moira laughed. "When he was little, I used to have to fight tooth and bloody nail with him to get him to sleep. I'd be sat in the kitchen and all of a sudden, I'd hear his little feet on the stairs and I'd think 'God, just go to sleep'." she shook her head and laughed, tears spilling down her cheeks. "And now all I can think about is the fact that I'd give anything for him to wake up." Dropping her head down into her hands, the older woman began to sob, her body shaking with every breath she took. Standing up, Allie pulled her into a hug, closing her eyes tightly when she felt Moira hug her back with such force that it almost hurt; but Allie wouldn't let go, not for anything in the world. **

"**Oh, sod it," Moira sniffed pulling away after a moment. "I'm sorry darlin'," she brushed a piece of hair out of Allie's eyes. "I didn't mean to fall apart on you like that."**

"**Don't apologise," Allie shook her head. "How many times have you had to pick me up the last few weeks?"**

"**Everyone keeps telling me they don't know how we all cope with it," Moira snorted. "Funny thing is, you can't turn around and tell them that we don't. We have to pretend its all fine and dandy just to please a bunch of strangers." She rolled her eyes and then sighed, really letting herself look at the blonde girl in front of her. "Look at you," she shook her head. "When was the last time you had a proper rest?"**

"**I'm fine," Allie told her with a smile. But she knew in her own mind that she wasn't; she didn't have to check the scales to know that she'd lost a good 10 pounds over the last few weeks, which given she was a fairly small girl anyway probably wasn't wise. And now she had a baby to worry about; after finding out about her 'condition' Lara had force fed her every fattening food they had in the kitchen and she had to admit she felt a little better. That was until she had the pleasure of throwing it all up this morning. **

"**How's Steve?" she asked, inwardly cursing herself for not asking earlier. To have one son in intensive care must be hard enough, but two? How the hell Moira Dunham did it, Allie would never know. **

"**He keeps asking about his brother," she shook her head. "I can't tell him that Pete's…" she looked away from the body on the bed and cursed as fresh tears poured from her eyes. Because that's all he was now: just a body. When he was sat up in bed with that infuriatingly cheeky grin on his face, then she'd be ok, but until then, all bets were off. **

"**I can't thank you enough for getting Shannon to stay," Moira looked at Allie who was busy putting the flowers into water. **

"**I didn't…"**

"**I know you did," she smiled knowingly. "I heard you giving her what for in the hallway that day. I've never been so bloody proud of you,"**

**Allie smiled and placed the flowers back on the table top, coming back to sit beside the old woman, who took her hand and leaned against her. Allie often wondered if this was really what having a mother would have been like. **

"**She was just scared," Allie explained. "Scared of losing Steve, of what would happen to Ben." **

"**I know," Moira nodded. "Believe me, I know." Her eyes landed on the West Ham crest tattooed on her son's chest and her blood ran cold. This had to stop; she'd already lost a husband to it, and she'd be damned if she lost a son. **

"**I wouldn't have blamed you if you'd walked away," she told Allie, noting the utter shock in her eyes. "You're young, and you're beautiful and you have so much life in you," she shrugged. **

"**My dad asked me a few days ago when he came to see Pete," Allie cleared her throat, but the lump stayed where it was. "Why didn't I walk away? The doctors are basically saying that…" her breath caught and she felt her eyes start to sting. "So I asked him, if he could've had more time with mum, would he have walked away just to save himself the pain?" her voice cracked and she noticed her hands were shaking. "And he said no way in hell. And then I told him that it was the same for me; I love Pete so much that it hurts, and the thought of spending a day without him there to rip the piss out of me or kiss me, or do something stupid to make me laugh." She shook her head and sobbed, meeting the blue eyes of the older woman. "But at the same time I'm sat here everyday with one half of my brain thinking about our wedding and the other half thinking about his funeral," she lost control of her breathing and wondered briefly if it actually was possible to die of a broken heart. "I can't do it, Moira. When I think about it I feel like I can't breathe," she sobbed harder. **

"**Oh sweetie, come here," Moira pulled her head down so that it was on her chest, her hands running up and down her back soothingly. "He'll be ok, you just wait and see." She nodded to herself. "He'll be ok."**

**Both women stared in silence at the man on the bed, both of them wanting so badly to believe what had just been said, but both of them equally knowing that they had every reason not to. **

* * *

"**Tell me you didn't spend the night here again?" the nurse asked Allie, quietly shutting the door behind her and shaking her head at the exhausted looking blonde girl sat on the bed in the exact same position she had been when she had left last night.**

"**I, uh, I just didn't want to…" Allie gestured towards Pete who lay motionless on the bed next to her, his hand laying limp in her tight grasp, the rise and fall of his chest along with the beeping of the heart monitor's the only reassurance that he was still with her.**

"**I know, sweetheart, but all you're doing is making yourself ill," Ilsa was a short red haired woman with a soft Irish lilt to her voice that was the main nurse in charge of Pete. She had seen Allie practically living at the hospital for the last four weeks and had taken pity on her, letting her stay the night with Pete when other visitors were sent home.**

"**Have you eaten anything?" Ilsa asked, eyeing her suspiciously.**

"**I felt a little sick this morning so I only had half a banana…" Allie began.**

"**Enough," Ilsa held up her hand and looked at her sternly. "That's all I needed to hear. I'm getting you some hot coffee and croissants with jam."**

**Allie looked at her gratefully and smiled, still holding onto Pete's hand.**

"**Thank you," she said softly when the older woman reached out and took her other hand, squeezing it gently.**

"**He'll be ok, sweetheart," she smiled. "You'll see."**

**Watching the door shut behind her, Allie turned back to Pete and gently touched his bruised face. "God, I hope so." She whispered.**

**After Ilsa came back with her breakfast, she turned on the TV next to Pete's bed and rolled her eyes as the very same episode of Friends that she had watched yesterday began again, leaning back in the chair, she felt her eyes getting heavier and heavier, but was determined to stay awake should Pete wake up even if it were only for a second, she wanted to be there. She **_**needed **_**to be there.**

**God knows how many hours later, she felt someone gently smoothing her hair off of her face; opening her eyes lazily, she expected to see Ilsa or maybe even Shannon standing above her, but instead she met the bright blue eyes that had haunted her dreams solidly for the past few days in fear that she would never see them again.**

"**Pete," she whispered, sitting up and blinking the sleep out of her eyes. He smiled back at her weakly, and she felt all the fight evaporate from her body. He was ok; his face was still badly bruised and she could tell that he was in pain, but it was him, it was her Pete.**

"**Oh my God," she breathed out, her chest heaving as she tried not to sob.**

"**Alright?" That was all he said, but it was enough for her to fall apart. Shaking her head, she let her head drop into the pile of their hands and sobbed so hard that she felt like she couldn't breathe.**

**She felt his hand on the back of her neck, his fingers weakly caressing her skin and felt her heart tighten; all the prayers must have paid off in one way or another. Lifting her head, she pulled herself onto the bed and kissed him hard. Despite his weakness, he returned the kiss full force; he had spent the last few weeks in such a dark place and the thought of this, the thought of **_**her**_** had been all that had kept him alive, of that much he was sure.**

**Pulling away, Allie rested her forehead against his and sighed.**

"**I thought you were…" she sobbed and took a deep breath. "You scared the hell out of me you fucking idiot," she whispered and he laughed, but it turned into a cough that had bolts of agony shooting through his ribs. He didn't need to ask her to know that he had broken them.**

"**Your leg, too." She gestured to his left leg that was suspended in the air slightly, and coated in plaster. He caught the expression on her face when she met his gaze and wondered what the hell he must look like. It hurt to laugh or frown, anything that involved movement felt like a strain.**

"**Is everyone else ok?" he asked, his voice hoarse from not speaking.**

"They're fine." She assured him. "The boys have been in and out everyday, and you're Mum she was here yesterday. Even Steve and Shannon, she brought him down here in a wheelchair but they only let him stay for ten minutes," she met his eyes.

"**What happened…" Pete swallowed hard and from the look in her eyes, he knew that she knew what he was asking. "What happened at the Warf?"**

"**I woke up that morning and you weren't in bed so I went to find you," Allie brushed her thumb gently over his cheek bone. "I got there and you were…" she cried even harder. "God, there was so much blood and you weren't…you weren't even breathing. By the time the police and the ambulance got to you, there was no sign of **_**him**_**," she spoke quietly and didn't quite meet his eyes. She looked at their hands for a long time and then looked back up at him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.**

"**I thought that I'd lost you," she sobbed, tilting her head up to the ceiling for a second. "They said that they didn't think you would wake up, so I just had to sit here, wondering…" she swallowed hard and wiped her face with her other hand. "I kept thinking, kept trying to remember what was the last thing that I said to you and I couldn't." She laughed. "How stupid is that? And I kept trying to remember the last time I kissed you, the last time I heard you laugh or say my name and I couldn't. It was like my mind had this, this blank and I just…all I could think about was that stupid fight we had." she took a deep breath and looked into his eyes, seeing the tears there, she reached out and gently brushed her thumb over his swollen and bruised cheek. "I love you," she whispered, smiling at him through her tears. "And you're ok and that's all that matters."**

**Pete reached out for her and she immediately leant forward, kissing his forehead and then his mouth. **

"**I love you, too." He whispered, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "It'd take more than a fucking coma to get rid of me, you should know that." He smiled when he felt her laugh lightly. **

**They lay in silence for a few minutes, and Allie felt her breathing get slower again.**

"**Pete," she whispered. "I don't want to fall asleep," she watched the tearstains appear on his hospital gown and shut her eyes tightly.**

"**I'll be here," he reassured her, holding her as tight as his arms would let him. "I promise."**

**Smiling, she let her eyes drift shut; lulled to sleep by the heartbeat of the man she loved. It was the best sound in the world. She woke an hour later, to find Pete staring down at her, his finger tips gently tracing her features; the look in his eye so intense that it made her heart skip a beat and her breath catch in her throat.**

"**Hey." She mumbled, pulling herself up and squinting at the clock next to his bed. 16.57.**

"**How're you feeling?" she asked him, gently reaching up and stroking his face. **

"**Awake," he told her with a slight smile. **

"**That's always a good sign," she smiled back. "Shit," she muttered, rubbing her face with her hands and yawning. "I promised the others that if anything changed I'd call them straight away." Giving him a lop-sided grin, she shrugged. "I should let them know,"**

**Pete nodded and stretched, wincing at the pain that sliced through his body at the movement. Allie immediately became awake and placed a gentle hand on his cheek.**

"**You ok?" she asked quickly. "Shall I get someone?"**

"**No," he smiled weakly at her. "They came in while you were asleep and told me that it would be like this for a while," he grinned through the pain and shook his head. "On the plus side they're handing out morphine like its fucking candy,"**

**Allie wanted to laugh, but she couldn't; this was too serious, there was no funny way to look at this, because no matter what way she looked at it, all she could see was his bloodied form lying motionless on the bed as she walked into the room that first night, her chest tightening as she took in the barrage of machines that he was hooked up to, barely hanging onto life.**

"**I'm going to go and call the boys," she told him, picking up her bag and heading for the door. Pete caught her arm before she could open it and looked her right in the eye.**

"**Hey," he spoke softly, all traces of humour gone from his voice. "It's ok. I'm ok,"**

**Allie nodded and pasted a smile onto her face, squeezing his hand and walking out into the hallway. He was ok, she thought, he was ok.**


	35. Chapter 35

"**That comes to £27.55 then please," the uninterested young man behind the counter at the hospital store addressed Allie, breaking out of her reverie.**

"**Sorry," she smiled at him, handing him £30 and picking up her bag which was stuffed with all of Pete's favourite foods and magazines. Accepting her change, she smiled at him once more and turned away from the counter, heading back towards the elevators and up to the 7****th**** floor where Pete was staying.**

**The doors opened with a soft hum and she stepped onto the ward, waving at the nurses and doctors who had come to know her over the past few weeks; turning the corner to Pete's room, she smiled through the window when she saw him staring into space and looking extremely bored, absentmindedly twirling the silver ring on his finger. He was in a world of his own right now, but then so was she. She still hadn't mentioned to him that she was pregnant…she didn't know if that was what he wanted to hear. They weren't even married yet and everything was so up in the air, the last thing the poor guy probably needed was her bursting into the room with '**_**Hey Pete, nice to have you back in the world of the living, by the way, I'm pregnant!' **_**Yeah, that would go down so well. **

"**Hey gorgeous," she said happily as she entered the room. He turned to face her and she felt a smile break out across her face as he smiled at her. He looked so much better, there was colour in his face again and his eyes were alive, not gaunt and sunken as they had been.**

"**Hey babe," he reached out and snagged her hand, pulling her over to the bed where she leant down and kissed him thoughroughly before pulling away with a huge grin on her face.**

"**I come bearing gifts," she told him, opening the bag and starting to unpack. Placing the fresh fruit, coffee, muffins, magazines, books, cartons of pineapple juice and box of chocolates in front of him, she giggled as his eyes lit up and he looked at her in wonder. "Tell me you don't love me," she laughed when he pulled her down to the bed again and kissed her.**

"**Oh no," he shook his head. "I love you, I just want to go home." He shook his head and reached for the coffee that she had brought him. "I can't stand being locked up in here."**

"**Yeah, well I asked Ilsa and she said it should only be for another few days," Allie opened the box of chocolates and offered him one, before attacking them, picking out all of the caramels and pushing them to one side, ignoring the roll of his eyes. "They just want to get your Physio sessions sorted and then you're all mine again."**

"**Anyway, I'd have thought you'd love it in here," Allie told him, licking a glob of caramel off of her finger. "All these sexy ladies in nurses uniforms at your beck and call," she wriggled her eyebrows. "Every school boys dream, surely?"**

**Grinning at her, Pete shook his head. "Not unless you fancy being my nurse for a day?"**

** "You are in no fit state to handle me yet," she joked.**

"**Yeah I know," Pete told her, suddenly feeling very hot as he watched her dip her finger into the caramel cup and then lick it off. Far too slowly. "And just so you know, you licking that caramel off of your finger like that isn't exactly helping my…. condition."**

**Pausing, Allie realised what he meant and started giggling, shaking her head, she put down the chocolates and opted for a banana muffin, a seemingly much more innocent snack.**

"**So what did the doctors have to say this morning?" she enquired, taking a sip of her rapidly cooling Macchiato.**

"**Just the usual bollocks," Pete shrugged. "No contact sport, no running…blah, blah, blah," he shook his head and laughed. "I'll be fine, wait and see."**

**Nodding, although not quite convinced, Allie glanced out of the window and wrinkled her nose at the rain. Damn British weather, she thought.**

"**Has Bovver…"**

"**I can't see him yet, Allie," Pete interrupted "Not after everything that's happened."**

"**I know you don't want to hear this but I think that you should see him," Allie caught the look of outrage on his face and held up her hands. "I'm just saying, he's a mess, ok? He keeps calling me and asking how you are…"**

"**You're talking to him?" Pete spat.**

"**_He's_ talking to _me_," Allie replied calmly. "He cares about you, he's not ringing to prove a point or look like a hero, he's ringing because his best mate, let's face it his brother, is in hospital and refusing to talk to him."**

"**Are you forgetting that he put Steve in the fucking ICU?" Pete almost shouted.**

"**No," Allie shook her head vehemently. "I'm not saying that what he did was right, in fact it was pretty messed up, but he's sorry." She gently touched his face. "That's all. No ulterior motive, I promise you. If you want me to stop talking to him, then I will, but I just thought that you would want to know that he's been asking about you."**

**Pete turned and looked at her as she picked at the muffin she was eating, or not eating as the case may be; he had noticed that she had lost weight; she was so petite as she was, and yet she was getting smaller, because he was stressing her out. Shaking his head, he felt disgusted with himself and reached out, taking her hand in his.**

"**You're right," he told her quietly. "Bovver…he's a fucking idiot, but…I don't know, I could use him when I get out of here anyway." He seemed to be talking more to himself now, Allie noticed, almost thinking aloud. "I mean when we set up with Hatcher again, we're going to need all the people we can get."**

**Allie stopped and felt her blood run cold; Oh Jesus, oh no, she must have heard him wrong. Clearing her throat, she turned to him with a weak smile on her face and shook her head.**

"**What do you mean?" she asked. "You can't seriously be thinking about…." She lowered her voice. "You can't be thinking of fighting again."**

**Pete looked at her in shock and frowned.**

"**Hatcher can't get away with this," Pete told her firmly. "Keith was saying that one of the Millwall lads was talking about Tommy down the pub, saying how he would have killed me if he'd had the chance," Pete snorted. "I'd fucking love to see him try."**

**Shaking her head, Allie couldn't believe what she was hearing; he wanted to fight again. She thought that this would have scared him; it would have shown him that he wasn't invincible and that he could lose everything.**

"**He did try, Pete," she hissed. "And he very nearly fucking succeeded, or has that just slipped your mind?"**

**Standing up so suddenly that her coffee cup fell to the floor, Allie shook her head again, staring at him in confusion.**

"**What the fuck are you doing, Pete?" she demanded in a whisper. "Have you got any idea how close you came to dying?" she shook her head and angrily wiped the tears away. "This man, this psycho beat you within an inch of your life. You had internal bleeding for fuck sake Pete." She sobbed again and stood up, pacing the room. "They said to me that there was a chance that you might not wake up, do you have any idea how that felt? To sit here watching you everyday not knowing if I was ever going to speak to you, or hold you or kiss you ever again." She wiped her face with her hands and then shoved them into her jean pockets, rocking nervously on the balls of her feet.**

"**You can't go after him again," she told him. "Promise me,"**

"**I have to, Allie, can't you fucking understand…"**

"**No!" she shouted at him. "Obviously I can't; the only thing that I understand is that this man almost killed you **_**and**_** your brother in a space of 48 hours without so much as blinking a fucking eyelid so explain to me, Pete. Give me one solid reason as to why you should fight him again and I swear to God I'll let it drop."**

"**He tried to kill Steve," Pete spoke through gritted teeth.**

"**So call the police!" Allie shouted at him. "Do what normal people do, Pete and let **_**them**_** deal with it. Because if you hunt Tommy down, you have two options the way I see it: kill him and go to prison or be killed." She laughed bitterly and shook her head. "How is it worth either of those risks? I mean do you honestly think that you're the only victim here Pete?" she snapped, her patience finally disintegrating into nothing. "Or does it not matter that your mum has sat here every day for four weeks going back and forth between yours and Steve's rooms wondering which of her sons is going to die first. Does it not matter that as much as you hate him Bovver looks like he's about to fucking keel over. Or that Ben might have lost both his Dad and his Uncle before he even turns three." Allie sobbed, but forced herself to carry on yelling, knowing that if she did there was a chance it might sink into to his brain. "And I suppose it didn't matter that I had to sit here day after day, waiting for the doctors to throw me another useless scrap of information, with one half of my brain planning our wedding and the other half thinking about your funeral!"**

**She practically screamed the last word and Pete felt his heart sink. Shit, he honestly hadn't thought about that. **

"**I can't let this go," Pete shouted back at her. "My Dad used to tell me to stand my ground and fight."**

"**And look where it got him, Pete!" she screamed. "He drank himself into oblivion and got stabbed for the sake of a fucking football match! You said to me once that you would never ever end up like that," she felt tears pouring down her face. "You're better than this and you know it." She looked into his eyes, searching for any sign that what she was saying was sinking in, but she couldn't read him and it sent a chill through her. "You've got so much going for you Pete," she begged. "You've almost lost it once, don't do it again." She looked into his eyes and could barely see him, she was crying so hard. "Please," she whispered, walking towards him and leaning down to kiss him. "Please, baby." She begged, leaning her forehead against his.**

"**After this, it'll all be over," he promised her. **

"**What'll be over exactly, Pete?" she scoffed, pulling away from him and looking at him in disgust. "You're life? The GSE? How about us?"**

**Pete's head snapped up and he stared at her hard, praying to God he had just misheard her. **

"**Us?" Pete laughed bitterly. "So what, you want to break up now?"**

"**When did I fucking say that? I have stood by you through everything, ok? Every stupid bloody fight, I have stood there and played the good girlfriend role and I'm getting fucking sick of it!" Allie shouted at him. "I'm not the one doing this to us, you are!"**

"**I'm not doing anything to us, alright, Allie," he shook his head. "For fuck sake, I love you, I'm marrying you,"**

"**And you think that's enough?" She demanded. "You think slipping a ring on my finger is going to make me ignore the fact that you go out and get the shit beaten out of you every weekend?"**

"**I've never gotten you involved," Pete snapped. "I've always kept you safe,"**

"**For fuck sake Pete, I'm marrying you! That kind of makes me involved whether you like it or not!" she shouted angrily. "And you know something else? It's not just about me anymore, ok?"**

"**What? Are you talking about Bov again, because I told you that's not fucking happening," he shouted. **

"**No it's not about Bovver!" she shrieked. "It's about me being pregnant, you giant fucking idiot!"**

**Pete's eyes widened and for the longest moment, nothing was said. Realising that she had said the last part out loud, Allie fell into the chair at the end of the bed and dropped her head into her hands. Why the hell did she need to go and shout her mouth off like that? Taking a deep breath, she looked up at Pete who was still staring at her, his blue eyes wide as saucers. **

"**You're pregnant?" he repeated slowly. **

**She didn't respond, she didn't even look up at him. **

**"Allie?" he tried again, more firmly this time. **

**"What?" she snapped as she ran a hand through her hair and gulped. "Look, its not my fault ok? I only found out yesterday, I was getting really sick so Lara made me take a test." Tears filled her eyes again and she slammed her hands down onto the leather seat, pushing herself up and glaring at him angrily. "And when I say sick, I mean I was on the verge of making puking a fucking Olympic sport. And all because you couldn't keep it in your pants," she clapped sarcastically. "Well done, Pete. You knock me up and then you go and get yourself beaten into a coma and then you have the God damn audacity to sit there yelling at _me_-…"**

**Glancing up at him, she frowned and stopped pacing. **

"**Why are you smiling?" she demanded. **

**Smiling would be an understatement; Pete Dunham was…beaming at her. **

"**When you said you're pregnant, you mean as in we're having a baby," he shook his head. "Like a **_**baby **_**baby?"**

"**No Pete," she rolled her eyes. "In nine months I'm actually going to give birth to an orange," She snorted. "What do you think?"**

"**Smart arse," he shot at her. **

"**Oh, piss off," she snapped defensively.**

"**Allie," he laughed. "Come 'ere," he held out his hand to her and grinned when she practically ran at him. Pete instantly sat up straighter and pulled her mouth down to his, kissing her so deeply that Allie had to bite back a moan, forcing her body to remember that the poor man was barely out of a coma and all the ideas that she had running through her head right now were more than a little inappropriate. Feeling one of his hands hand's slide down to gently rest on her stomach, Allie smiled against his mouth and pulled away, trying to get her breath back.**

**Pulling her on top of him, Pete smirked when she squealed and tried to pull away, but he held onto her tighter, placing her so that she was sitting above him on her knees, legs either side of his. He hated himself for putting her through all of that, the past few weeks she had been pregnant and alone and so scared…all because of him.Pushing her sweater up to reveal her still flat stomach, Pete placed his palm against the soft warm skin and shook his head in amazement, knowing that there was a tiny little thing in there, and they had made it. It was crazy, but fucking hell was it exciting. **

"**It's not just me who's going to worry about you now," she told him, placing her hand over his on her stomach. "Yesterday when I took that test and it said positive, Jesus Pete, I can't even begin to tell you how scared I was, knowing that there was a chance you might never wake up and I'd be alone with this…" she looked down at her stomach. "I love you," she whispered. "I love you so, so much, and I know how much the GSE means to you…but I can't put a child through it," she looked at him in the eye and felt something rip in her chest. "I **_**won't**_**."**

**Sighing, Allie looked down at their hands for a long moment, swallowing the lump in her throat and trying her best not to start crying again. **

"**Pete, you were eleven when your Dad died," she explained, watching his eyes darken at the memory. "Do you really want this baby to go through that? Do you really want **_**me**_** to have to go through that? You know I would never ask you to give up the GSE, I promised you when we first met that I would never do that. And I'm not planning on doing it now, but at the same time, if you can't see that that's what you need to do, then…" **

**Allie trailed off, jumping slightly when Pete grabbed her face and tilted it up so that she was looking him in the eye; gasping when she saw the tears rolling down his face, Allie reached out subconsciously and started wiping them away, biting her lip when he gently kissed the inside of her palm. **

"**You'll never have to ask me," Pete told her firmly. "Because there's never been a choice, not when it comes to you. It's you, Allie. It's always been you."**

**Dropping her head down onto her chest, Allie sobbed, unable to keep it together any longer as Pete's arms held her closer, neither of them speaking for a long moment. Bashfully wiping his eyes, Pete pulled back from Allie and stared up at her, still trying to get his head around the fact that she was pregnant. She was having his baby…the girl who he'd met on the underground all those years ago, the girl that no one thought he would ever have a shot with was not only marrying him, but she was going to have his baby. Glancing to the ironically placed crucifix over his bed which he had no doubt his mother had put there, he grinned, knowing that someone up there must like him. **

"**Fuck, it's a good thing I gave you this isn't it?" He held up her engagement ring and laughed. "Do you have any idea what my mum would say if she knew you were pregnant?"**

"**Shit!" Allie's eyes widened and she clapped her hand over her mouth. "My dad…I forgot about my dad." She looked at Pete and shook her head. "You can kiss you manhood goodbye, Dunham. When he finds out you've violated his little girl out of wedlock-…"**

"**Oi!" he laughed. "If I remember correctly, you were never exactly pushing me away," **

"**Not the point," Allie shook her head. "The point is, I'm a Roman Catholic," **

"**Aren't you lot against birth control?" Pete frowned. "So to be honest, we've only done what God asked,"**

"**Oh, well, I'm sure once I explain it to my Dad **_**that **_**way," she giggled, turning serious after a moment. "Are you ok with this?"**

"**What?" Pete frowned. **

"**Oh, gee, I don't know," she laughed. "Giving up the GSE, marrying me, having this baby?"**

**Pete stared at her for a moment and stopped breathing; she honestly thought that he didn't want this? Did she actually think that he could ever want anything ever than to be with her every day for the rest of his life? **

**Reaching up, her pulled her down to him and covered her mouth with his, kissing her with every ounce of strength he had in him, needing her to know that she was all he wanted.**

"**I love you," Pete whispered against her mouth, tucking her hair behind her ears and smiling at her. "And I can promise you that there is nothing else in this world that I want more than I want you and this baby." He shook his head. "You're stuck with me, Harding."**

"**You promise?" She smiled down at him, her green eyes sparkling as she bit her lip. **

"**Cross my heart and hope to-…" he stopped and caught the look Allie gave him. "We're not at the point where we can joke yet are we?" he winced. **

"**I'm not sure there's a point when a three week coma ever really falls into the category of funny," Allie told him, shaking her head. Jesus, men could be so dense sometimes…**

"**Well maybe if-…" Pete frowned as he slid his hands around her hips, feeling something wet under his fingertips. Pulling away, he wrinkled his nose at the brown goo on his hand. "Allie, what the fuck?" **

"**What?" She looked down at his hand and then at her jeans. "Shit!" she hopped off of the bed and reached into her pocket, pulling out a completely melted bar of Bounty. "Oh my God! These were £300 jeans!"**

**Unable to help himself, Pete started laughing at her as she dug the melted chocolate out of her pocket and shook her head, muttering a few choice words under her breath. **

"**Since when did you become fucking Willy Wonka?" he asked her, still choking. **

"**It's not…" she laughed. "I'm addicted to Bounty bars; I have to carry them around with me all the time." She raised her eyebrows when he laughed even harder. "It's not funny! Yesterday in the car park there was a woman eating one and I thought I was going to end up mugging her."**

**Shaking her head, Allie gave up and flopped back down onto the bed next to him, laying her head next to his and turning to face him. She had almost forgotten how blue his eyes were and how easily he could make her heart stop beating with just a smile…who was she kidding about walking away from him? When it came to Pete Dunham, she had been a goner a long time ago…**

"**Laugh it up, pretty boy," she smirked. "From what I hear the cravings are only going to get weirder."**

"**Yeah, well I reckon I can handle it," Pete told her, ignoring the pain in his shoulder when he reached up and began stroking her hair. "Once I'm out of here, everything will change, you'll see," he promised her. "I've got you," he reasoned. "I don't need anything else,"**

**Allie smiled at him and leant in to kiss him gently, careful not to knock any of the tubes and wires that were strapped to his body. Closing her eyes and revelling in the feel of his mouth on hers, his fingers dancing over her skin, Allie pushed the last three weeks to the back of her mind and focused only on the future.**

**

* * *

**

"**Are you sure?"**

**The older man looked up from where he was hunched over the filthy desk, his hands clasped together as though in prayer as he looked up at the harsh white light above his head trying to put a face to the voice. **

"**I'm positive," Lee Esdon leant down and met his eyes, trying not to let his fear show as he watched the monster before him crack his knuckles menacingly on the battered wooden surface. **

"**Well then," the older man smiled sickly, the long scar marring the side of his face making him look almost demonic as he turned to the group of men sat behind him. "If my little friend Lee here is telling me the truth and Petey Dunham is alive then we have something of a problem, don't we boys?"**

"**What do want us to do?" **

"**Nothing," he replied. "You lot do fucking nothing. I started it and it's up to me to finish it," **

**Reaching under his desk, Tommy Hatcher pulled out a long, jagged blade and turned it over in his fingers as he grinned up at Lee. **

"**And I plan to do just that." He placed the knife on the table and it glinted menacingly in the fluorescent lighting. "And don't worry little Lee, this time, I'll be much more thorough."**

* * *

**_Oooh, I feel so evil right now! Come on, don't tell me you thought it was going to be all sunshine and rainbows from here on out...I'm far to twisted for any of that :D ...I'm in the process of writing the final chapter and I'm finding it sooo difficult! But chillax boys and girls, we have a little way to go before I throw that one at you ;) enjoy..._**


	36. Chapter 36

_You'll have to forgive me for this one, it's not as long as the others, but the next chapter is something of a monster so I thought I'd keep this as short and sweet as possible. I hope you like it, keep leaving me those wonderful reviews and you may just get another helping before the weekend ;) xxx_

"**Fuck!" **

**Pete shouted as he stared at the ceiling, tears stinging his eyes as the searing hot pain shot through his leg again. He'd been at home for a three weeks and this was his physiotherapy sessions without a doctor there to help him weren't exactly his favourite part of the day. He had begun walking without his crutches, but his muscles in his leg had gone to shit after a month of lying in bed so he had to work hard at building them back up. He just hadn't factored in the utter agony… **

"**I can't do it," he growled, gripping the side of the bed so hard that his knuckles cracked. **

"**Try one more time, ok?" Allie asked as she stood above him, her hand suspended a foot above the bed, signalling where he had to stretch to. **

"**Allie, I'm in fucking agony." He snapped, trying to take deep, soothing breaths. **

"**I know, baby," she smiled sadly at him. "But just try…"**

"**I can't," his voice broke and he turned his head to the side, refusing to meet her eyes. Allie bit her lip, knowing that right now, he didn't really want comfort, deep down he wanted her to push him. Looking at the pain etched across his face she realised that there was no was she was going to be prepared to force him to do anything, but she would happily give him a little inspiration. **

"**Well," she sighed loudly, kneeling on the end of the bed and flicking her hair over her shoulder. "That's a shame because you know when you were asleep all those weeks, a lot of things changed." Allie smirked at him. "I did tell you about the Dior shipment we got in, the practically not there underwear."**

**Immediately, Pete's head snapped back up and he looked at her hard, his eyes narrowing; he knew what her game was, he wasn't stupid. But that didn't mean he wasn't willing to play along…**

**She unzipped her hooded sweatshirt to just above her bust and then stopped, glancing up at Pete and seeing the frustration in his eyes. Jesus, men were so predictable; tell them they need to do something for their own health and it's a chore, show them a little skin and hint at physical contact and you could probably get them to run a marathon even in a leg cast. **

"**All I need you to do is one rep," she held up a solitary finger. "And you get a free pass to the show, which believe me Dunham, given in six months I'm going to look like something that should be swimming in a tank at SeaWorld, isn't an offer you want to turn down, ok?"**

**Pete laughed and shook his head at her, his eyes lingering on the slightest bit of lace he could see peeking out from her top. One rep…he could do that…**

**Standing back up, Allie held her hand in the air and looked down at him with a gentle smile. **

"**Ready?" she held his gaze. "One, two, three…"**

**Allie very nearly blushed at the series of swear words that came out of Pete's mouth as he lifted his leg just high enough so that the tips of his toes brushed her palm. Dropping it back down, Pete threw his head back against the pillow and closed his eyes tightly, simply letting the pain wash through him for a long moment. That was the downside of being a PE teacher…he knew what was happening inside his knee when he'd done that, and he knew that as much as it was hurting now, it would be nothing compared to what he'd be going through in a few hours when the pain really kicked in. **

"**Hey," he opened his eyes and looked up to see Allie perched above him, holding herself up high enough so that no part of her body was anywhere near his for fear of hurting him. "I'm proud of you," she smiled. "You did good,"**

**She brushed the short amount of hair that had started to grow since he'd been in hospital. "You want me to shave it for you?" she asked, giggling slightly when the little spikes of hair tickled her palm. **

"**Yeah," Pete nodded breathlessly. "It must look fucking ridiculous,"**

"**No you don't," she laughed, digging around in the en suite bathroom for the pair of clippers that Harry had leant her this morning. "It's actually pretty cute,"**

**Walking back into the bedroom, she saw that he had sat up and was now leaning down slightly, examining his knee which was still bruised and swollen. Moving to stand in front of him, she tilted his head up and leant down, gently kissing his forehead. **

"**You're sure you want me to do this?" Allie asked him nervously. "You wouldn't rather do it yourself?"**

"**Nah," he smirked up at her. "I trust you." **

"**You won't be saying that when I accidentally scalp you," she muttered, switching them on and gently running the clippers over his hair, shortening it to its usual length. It took her less time than she thought it would have and she stood back after a second, admiring her work. Without the bruising on his face and the cuts, he looked like Pete again, in fact were it not for his knee, you probably wouldn't guess there was anything wrong with him. Catching the scar on his stomach peeking out from beneath his t-shirt as he stretched, Allie winced. Well, maybe there were a few other hints. **

"**How're you feeling?" he asked her, gently pushing up the material of her sweatshirt and placing soft kisses along her stomach. Closing her eyes at the sensation, Allie tried to keep herself calm; she didn't know whether it was just her and these stupid hormones, but sharing a bed with Pete after nearly a month and a half of…not having a lot of **_**alone time**_** was starting to get to her. **

**Glancing down through hooded eyes, she saw how hard he was struggling to keep control of his own body and felt slightly better that it wasn't just her. **

"**Me?" she squeaked out as he ran his tongue over the top of her ladybird tattoo on her hip. **_**Concentrate,**_** she scolded herself. "I'm, um, I think I'm fine, I don't know…how are you?"**

**Grinning against her skin, Pete knew exactly what he was doing to her and pulled her even closer, pressing his mouth openly against her skin. **

"**No morning sickness then?" he mumbled, keeping his mouth against her skin as he blindly reached up and felt for the zip on her sweater. **

"**Um, a little actually," Allie conceded. That was a lie to start with; she'd woken up at 5am this morning and had to run to the bathroom, actually getting to the stage where she was having to bring books with her to keep her brain occupied in between puking sessions. But with the way his mouth was moving over her skin, hot, open and eager, all of that seemed a life time ago right now…**

"**Allie," Pete pulled away from her and she looked down at him, fighting the urge to screech at him in outrage. "Why didn't you call me?"**

"**So you could do what exactly?" she shook her head. "Count the colours and try and guess what I ate last night?"**

"**That's fucking gross," Pete laughed at her, shaking his head. **

"**Yeah, I know," she laughed, blowing a piece of hair out of her eye. "And it's bad enough that one of us has to go through it, let alone both. Besides, I've got nine months to worry about me, right now, all I want is for you to get better," **

"**I can think of a couple of ways you could do that," he smirked up at her and reached for the zipper on her shirt again. **

"**Pete!" she laughed, dodging away from his touch. "We can't ok? Believe me when I say I want to, but we can't,"**

"**Why?" Allie shook her head and laughed; Jesus, he looked like he was a step away from stamping his foot and pouting. "The baby?"**

"**What?" she frowned. "No, no. It's just…look at you. You can't even kick your leg a foot in the air, Pete."**

"**Which is such a key movement during sex," he frowned, shaking his head at her. **

"**Ok," she laughed. "Fair enough, but I just," she bit her lip. "I don't want to hurt you,"**

"**You won't," Pete shook his head and pulled her down so that she was sat next to him on the bed. "Come here," he leaned in and kissed her softly at first, then harder until she was kissing him back with just as much force, their bodies heating up quicker than usual, obviously having felt the strain of the last month more than they thought. **

**Pete fell back onto the bed, bringing her with him and pulling her so that she was half leaning across him, her hands resting on his chest as though afraid to move anywhere else. **

"**How the hell are we going to do this?" she muttered and felt him laugh against her neck. **

"**Closing the damn door would be step one," Lara called as she walked passed, not giving either of them time to respond as she kicked the heavy oak door closed with her foot. **

"**Christ!" Allie laughed, falling against Pete's chest as he too burst out laughing, leaning against her neck and shaking his head. "So much for romance, right?"**

**Leaning up and kissing her again, Pete removed her shirt and smiled against her mouth when she finally got the idea and straddled his legs, her hands trailing downward to work on the sweats he constantly had to wear as all his jeans were too tight over his knee. Whispering the words he had only ever said to her in her ear, Pete closed his eyes and let himself get lost in her again, temporarily forgetting that anything other than her existed and silently wishing that he could stay in this world forever, but he knew it was impossible.**

**

* * *

**

**Allie walked into Pete's flat and smiled, the familiar surroundings reminding her of a time when things hadn't been quite so complicated. Letting out a deep breath, she put her bag down on the table top and bit her lip, not really knowing where to start. She had left Pete in Harry's less than capable hands along with Swill, Dave, Ike and Ned for an hour or so while she came over here and got some more of his stuff together. **

**Frowning the noticed one of the posters on the wall was ripped and ran her finger along it, wondering how it had come to be in such a state. Spotting the slight dent in the plaster beneath it, she was hit by the memory of the night Steve had been stabbed and what had happened between her and Pete and immediately blushed. Right, so that would explain the fingernail marks along it. **

"**Allie?"**

**The woman in question jumped, shrieking slightly as she turned to meet the burning blue eyes of Matt Buckner, who stood there staring at her, his hair still wet from the shower. **

"**Shit!" she laughed, pressing her hand to her chest. "You scared me,"**

"**Sorry," he laughed, making his way over to her and pulling her into a tight hug. "I was actually just on my way over to yours to see Pete," he explained. "I'm late though,"**

"**Its fine," Allie assured him. "You've only missed three of what I assume will be over a million rounds of FIFA on the playstation."**

"**I've already missed _three_?" Matt gasped, smiling when she giggled and shook her head. "Well, if you want I can wait for you and we can leave together?"**

"**Translation: Allie can I get a lift?" she smirked at him. **

"**Well, as you're offering…" he winked at her. **

"**Very funny," she grabbed a few of Pete's books he needed for his school work and chucked them into the bag. "Come on, Captain America, you can help me,"**

"**So how's the morning sickness?" he asked her as they made their way down to Pete's bedroom, which was just as Allie had left it the morning she had followed him down to the Warf. **

"**Getting better," she told him with a smile. "I'm down to only three times a day now,"**

"**Nice," Matt laughed, pulling a handful of t-shirts out of the wardrobe and handing them to her. "Are you getting excited though?" **

"**Oh my God," she laughed. "Are you kidding me? I have my first scan next week and I swear Pete's like a kid before Christmas, I mean-…" **

**Allie stopped suddenly, looking towards the bedroom door and frowning. **

"**Hey," Matt looked at her seriously. "Allie, are you ok?"**

"**Yeah," she nodded. "I'm fine, I just thought I heard something…" shaking her head she went back to the task at hand and smiled up at the American. **

"**So what are you doing about the wedding?" he asked her. **

"**Well, I mean, I know its stupid but I do wanna get married before the baby is born," Allie rolled her eyes. "Call me old fashioned, but I just kinda want-…"**

**A loud crash sounded through the apartment causing Allie to drop the pile of clothes she was holding and look at Matt who was already on guard, his bright blue eyes boring into the door as though trying to stare through it. **

"**Ok, we can't blame it on the hormones this time, you heard that too, right?" Allie asked him, feeling a lot more nervous when he hushed her, not looking even slightly amused. "Matt, its nothing," she shook her head and made her way towards the door. **

"**Allie!" he hissed, reaching out to snag her arm but missing her completely as she strolled over to the door and out through it towards the kitchen. **

**Cursing under his breath, Matt followed her, finding her standing in the centre of the living room with her arms stretched out in an over exaggerated shrug. **

"**It was the window," she pointed towards the open bay window. "Nothing to be scared of," Allie laughed. "You full on pissed your pants just then didn't you?"**

"**Get lost," Matt rolled his eyes, trying not to grin at her. The smile bled off of his face when he looked past her and saw the front door open, moving lightly in the breeze coming from the window. "Allie, get out," he ordered her. **

"**What?" she frowned? "Why?"**

"**Allie, just get out, ok?" he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the door, crying out in pain when something sliced hard into the side of his leg and making him lose his grip on her as he fell to the floor.**

"**Matt!" Allie dropped to her knees next to him and looked at the blood which was pouring from his leg. "Oh my God!" she shook her head, trying to understand what had happened…feeling something move behind her, Allie looked up and felt her blood run cold. She didn't have to ask his name…she had only seen those eyes once, but they had been burned into her memory. **

"**You'll have to excuse us for a moment, Yank-y boy," Tommy Hatcher smiled down at the terrified blonde, tears shimmering in her emerald eyes as he twisted the knife which was dripping with Matt's blood in front of her face. "It's just Blondie and I need to have a little chat…"**


	37. Chapter 37

_Here we go...:) I hope you like it, I think this is the one chapter of this story that I've been most unsure about so all feedback is appreciated. I hope it doesn't totally suck:P Any-who, this is dedicated to everyone and anyone who has taken the time to review this story, you've been my muse to keep going! Enjoy!_

"**What do you want?" Allie whimpered, gripping Matt's hand in hers and wondering how loud she would have to scream for the people downstairs to hear her. **

"**What do I want?" Tommy shook his head and kicked Matt aside, hard enough to easily break a few of his ribs, before crouching down in front of Allie and running the bloodied knife along her neck. She took a deep, shaky breath and met his eyes which contained no emotion whatsoever. "What I want is my son back," he winced. "But you can't give me that, can you blondie?"**

"**Please," Allie begged. "I need to get him to a hospital," she looked at Matt who was slowly drifting in and out of consciousness as the blood flowed steadily from his leg. "Just let me go,"**

"**Let you go?" Tommy shouted in her face. "What? Let you go back to Dunham and play happy families? You don't fucking get it do you? Your little boyfriend should have died!"**

"**He almost did because of you!" Allie shouted back, temporarily forgetting that the man in front of her had a knife that he was obviously more than willing to use. **

"**Am I supposed to say sorry?" he hissed. "I should have killed the stupid cunt! But the thing with little boys like Dunham is that they don't really get the point, he's not overly bright is he?" Tommy yanked Allie to her feet and threw her back against the wall, smiling sickeningly when she cried out in pain. **

"**What most people don't know about your boy is that he's soft, isn't he?" Tommy smirked. "In fact it was this little thought that made me realise that even though Mikey was a stupid fucker, he got one thing right." The knife was against her face again, the cold metal wet with what she knew was Matt's blood making her feel sick as it slid down her face. "The best way to get to Dunham is you."**

**Allie swallowed hard, her whole body shaking as she met his eyes and silently pleaded with him. **

"**I won't call the police," she whispered brokenly. "I promise, just please…" tears started flowing down her cheeks and she glanced at Matt, sobbing when she saw that he was trying so hard to pull himself back up. **

"**Leave her alone," he hissed hoarsely. "You can do whatever the hell you want to me, but leave her alone,"**

"**You had better shut your fucking mouth, son" Tommy snapped, kicking him once more and then looking back at Allie with an eyebrow quirked. "Now, where were we?"**

"**I'm…" Allie licked her lips, throwing her had back against the wall and sobbing silently as the fear rushed through her body. "I'm pregnant,"**

**Tommy's eyes widened and she could have sworn he actually took a step back, but then the sick smile was back again and Allie felt her chest tighten. **

"**Isn't that sweet?" he spat. "And you think that's a reason for me to walk out of here do you? Because you took a chance and went slumming long enough to open your legs for Petey Dunham?"**

"**You're sick," Allie whispered, shaking her head. **

"**Maybe you're right," Tommy tapped his head. "But then seeing your son get his head crushed can do funny things to a man,"**

**Swallowing hard, she tightened her hands into fists and wondered if she hit him hard, could she knock him back long enough to at least get to the phone…as though sensing what she was about to do Tommy grabbed her wrists and slammed them against the wall, Allie screamed when she heard a series of cracks and then saw that most of her fingers were bent in impossible angles. Feeling tears stream down her face once more, she looked up at the man pleadingly. **

"**Please," she begged him, with a sob. "Please stop," **

**Tommy did not laugh at her this time, he merely looked her dead in the eye and she almost swore she could see sadness, but then something changed. **

"**My son said the very same thing when he was being crushed to death by Steve Dunham and his boys," Tommy stared at her with such coldness in his eyes, that Allie felt a shiver run up her spine. "And it didn't help him, either."**

"**I'm sorry about your…"**

**Allie stopped mid sentence when she felt something incredibly sharp slice against her stomach; looking down she saw Tommy slide the knife across her skin not hard enough to penetrate the skin but hard enough to draw a fair amount of blood. She wanted to scream but couldn't. The pain was so immense that all she could do was look back into his eyes; his cold, dead eyes that seemed to contain a glimmer of humour as he pushed the knife in a little deeper this time, drawing more blood. **

"**I got to see my child die," he whispered to her. "So now you don't get to see yours live,"**

**She felt her legs give out and collapsed, holding her hand against her stomach, she whimpered when she saw her hand covered in blood. **_**The baby…oh God, the baby… **_

**He was going to stab her, Tommy Hatcher was going to kill her, and her baby…She wanted to scream, but her body felt too cold, everything seemed to be slowing down; turning her head to look at Matt who was crying, holding his hand out to her and trying to pull himself upright so he could get to where she was lying. Reaching out, she brushed her blood covered fingers against his just briefly before her world began to dim; Tommy made his way over to her, knife still in hand and it was in that second that Allie Harding became more than aware that she was going to die. **

* * *

**Bovver climbed the stairs to Pete's flat, still not sure if he was doing the right thing by being there; it had been over a month since they'd last spoken and he'd heard from Swill that he was heading back to work soon, so he was on the mend. But their friendship was a different story…he just hoped it wasn't too late to salvage anything. **

**Stopping just outside the door, he frowned, noting that it was half open yet there was no noise coming from inside; pushing through it, he stepped into the living room and froze when he saw Tommy Hatcher stood calmly over by the sofa, looking down at something on the floor. **

"**Tommy?" Bovver half shouted, anger building up in his blood. **

**The older man turned to face him and Bovver felt his blood run cold at the sight of the blood stained knife in his hand; he looked almost lost…almost scared. It was then that Bovver spotted it, the faint flash of blonde hair beside Tommy's foot. **

**Oh no…oh Jesus Christ, no…**

**Running past Tommy, not even considering his own safety, Bovver practically screamed and dropped to his knees next to Allie who was surrounded by her own blood, her hands clasped loosely over her stomach as she fought to keep her eyes. Pushing her hands away, he looked at the marks on her skin, they were deep, but not deep enough to have gone all the way through her skin. **

"**Allie," he whispered, gently brushing her hair off of her face. "It's alright sweet heart," he ignored the tears stinging his eyes as he quickly pulled out his phone and called 999. He kept her hand in his the whole time he spoke to them, not wanting to let go in case…he shuddered at the thought and shook his head.**

**Spotting Matt on the other side of her, he reached out and shook him gently, trying to wake him, and sighing with relief when he groaned in pain. At least it meant he was alive. **

**Hanging up the phone, Bovver turned to look at Tommy who was leant up against the wall, staring at the knife which he had dropped onto the carpet in his haste to get away from the devastation he had created. **

**Letting go of Allie quickly, Bovver ran at him, screaming as he slammed his fist into the older mans face, knocking him to the floor. It was a blur of blood and screaming, but Bovver knew what he was doing. He hit him over and over until there seemed to be nothing left of him but blood, and it only took him a moment to assess that Tommy Hatcher was no longer breathing. Collapsing back onto the floor, Bovver pulled himself over to where Allie was still laying her body shaking so badly with fear that he had to fight to keep hold of her, as he pulled her head into his lap, gently stroking her face with his bruised and broken hands. **

"**You'll be ok," he told her, tears pouring down his face. "I promise,"**

**Looking up at him desperately, Allie sobbed and felt her eyes getting heavier, her body getting colder. He had promised her that everything would be alright, and as she closed her eyes, letting the darkness take her away from the pain, Allie tried to make herself believe him. **

* * *

**Allie opened her eyes and winced at the coldness enveloping her body as she lay in bed; bed. Where the fuck was she?Panicking, she tried to sit up, but felt someone squeeze her hand and turned to see Bovver sat next to the bed, his face ashen with worry as he rubbed her hand gently. **

"**Easy," he whispered. "You're ok, everything's ok."**

"**The baby," she whimpered through her oxygen mask, not caring about her own health, all she needed to know was that the child was ok. **

"**You're fine, Allie," Bovver nodded with a faint smile. "They said everything's normal. There was no damage really," he gestured to her stomach. "Just a couple of stitches,"**

**Nodding slowly, Allie suddenly burst into tears; she knew how close she had come to dying, to losing her baby…and if Bovver hadn't had shown up….**

"**Pete," she whispered, trying to control her breathing. "Oh God, I need Pete,"**

"**He's on his way sweetheart," Bovver assured her, gently. "And Matt's only next door, Christ, those yanks don't have complain do they? He's got a scratch compared to you, but he's winging like a little girl in there,"**

**Against her will, Allie laughed and felt the slight pull on the skin of her stomach; pulling up her shirt she looked at the series of stitches running under her bellybutton and winced. All he would have had to have done was put that little bit more pressure….**

"**What happened?" she whispered, looking at Bovver seriously. He didn't have to ask her to clarify that, he knew what she was asking. **

"**He's dead," Bovver told her, not quite looking her in the eye. "Tommy's dead,"**

**Allie looked at the young man in shock; Bovver had killed Tommy…to protect her. Reaching out, she shakily tilted his face up so that he was looking at her. **

"**Thank you," she told him gently, smiling through her tears. "If it wasn't for you…"**

"**Allie!" both of them looked up as Pete burst through the door, running as fast as he could with his injury. Reaching the bed, he wasted no time in pulling her into his arms, kissing the top of her head and holding her shaking body as tightly as he could without hurting her. Pulling away from her slightly, he cupped her face in his hands and wiped the tears off of her face with his thumbs. **

"**Baby, I'm so sorry," he whispered, tears in his own eyes. "I should have been there, I should have…" shaking his head he let his eyes drift down to her stomach and gently pushed up the material of her shirt, his eyes darkening when the first of the stitches came into view. "Is the baby….?"**

"**Bovver said its all ok," she told him, looking down at the still reddened skin and feeling ill. **

**Pete snapped his head up, having been so caught up in making sure Allie was ok hadn't even noticed that Bovver was sat there. Meeting his former best friends eyes, Pete didn't quite know what to do. **

"**I'm going to…" Bovver quickly squeezed Allie's hand once more and then left the room, letting the door close softly behind him. Allie looked up into Pete's bright blue eyes and smiled shakily at him; he leant down to kiss her for a moment and stopped only when she whispered his name against his mouth. **

"**He saved me," she told him earnestly. "And Matt, without him, Pete, I don't know what the hell would have happened, but something tells me that I wouldn't be here right now,"**

"**Don't," Pete shook his head and leant his forehead against hers. "I can't think about that,"**

"**Hey, it's ok," she whispered. "I'm ok now," she sobbed against her will. "But God, I was so scared, I actually thought that he would…"**

"**Shhhh," Pete pulled her into his arms again and rocked her gently. They stayed like that for a long time, only pulling apart when a doctor came into the room and coughed lightly to alert them of her presence. **

"**Hi, Allie," the young woman smiled. "My name is Dr. Kane, I'm from the anti-natal clinic, they've sent me down here to take a scan and make sure that you and baby are both ok,"**

**Allie gripped Pete's hand and swallowed hard; she was yet to have her first scan yet and this really wasn't how she had pictured it. Pete pulled her closer and smiled at the doctor who pulled a large machine through the door behind her and hooked it up, gesturing for Allie to lie back on the bed. **

"**Ok, so this is going to be cold," the Dr told her, squeezing some gel onto her flat tummy and laughing slightly at the girl's rather colourful reaction. Placing the scanner over her tummy, she began moving it around, carefully navigating her way around the cuts. **

**Allie winced in discomfort and Pete leant down, pressing his lips against her temple, his eyes glued to the small screen in front of them. He couldn't make out what the hell was on it, but then he didn't even know what he was looking for. **

"**I know its uncomfortable honey, but it won't be long now," the Dr told her gently. "There," she smiled, reaching forward and pressing a button on the machine that froze the image of what appeared to be a small smudge on the screen. **

"**What the fuck is that?" Pete frowned.**

"**That," the Dr laughed at the young couple. "Is your baby, and it looks perfect," she pulled the scanner away from Allie's belly and smiled at the young woman. "All happy and healthy, and judging by the size, I'd say you are exactly ten weeks," **

"**The baby's ok?" Pete laughed with relief. **

"**He or she is absolutely fine," the Dr gently touched Allie's hand. "Now I think it's just a case of looking after mum," **

**Nodding slowly, Allie dropped her head back onto Pete's chest and cried so hard she began to choke. It was too late and too much had happened all she wanted to do was fall asleep in Pete's arms and forget that any of this had ever occurred. **

"**I'll give you two a moment," she gently wiped the gel off of Allie's tummy and smiled. "I spoke to the sister and she said you should be able to go home in the morning, they just want to make sure you're ok,"**

"**Thanks," Pete smiled at her, stroking Allie's back. The door closed and he turned back to her where she had her head buried in his chest, clinging to the material of his sweater for dear life. **

"**Oi," he whispered, crouching down so that he was level with her. "It's over, it's ok, and I've got you."**

**She didn't say anything, just held him tighter ignoring the tugging pain in her stomach as the skin around the stitches tightened. They stayed like that for a long moment, the only sound in the room seeming to be Allie's harsh breathing as she struggled to get her emotions back in check. It was in that second that the door crashed open, two men falling through it, their eyes landing on the couple with a mixture of fury and relief. **

"**Oh thank fuck for that," Harry panted, bending over and resting his hands on his knees. "This is the fourth room we've dramatically burst into,"**

"**Who wants to explain to me what the fucking hell is going on?"**

**All three of them turned and looked at the older man behind Harry, his dark blue eyes and slightly thinning grey hair hinting at the handsome young man he once was. Meeting his eyes, Allie winced; her Dad never swore…this was going to be bad. **

"**Let's start with you," Richard Harding pointed at Pete who immediately took a step back. "I don't suppose you'd care to fill me in on how my only daughter, your fiancé, not to mention the mother of your unborn child is lying in a hospital bed having had her stomach stitched back together?"**

"**Jesus Christ, Dad," Allie hissed. "Chill the hell out will you, it's not Pete's fault?"**

"_**Chill out?"**_** he hissed, narrowing his eyes. "Allie, you could have been killed!"**

"**I think she might already know that, Dad," Harry rolled his eyes, immediately wishing he'd kept his mouth shut as the old man whipped around to face him. **

"**And you," he snapped. "Where the hell were you when your baby sister was getting stabbed?"**

"**Allie?" Matt limped through the door on one crutch, frowning when he saw the gang gathered at the foot of her bed. **

"**Who the bloody hell are you?" the old man with the almost laughably posh accent demanded. **

"**Dad, that's Matt," Allie shook her head. Christ, why was it that people in her family were so retarded? "Remember, he's Pete's friend, I told you about him on the phone,"**

"**Now which conversation did that come up in Alyssa?" he asked her, using her full name: a sure sign from any parent that they weren't pissing about. "Was it the one after Pete's brother had been stabbed? Or was it the one after Pete himself had been beaten into a month long coma? Or was it my personal favourite…today's conversation in which I was informed by a man named Bother that my only daughter had been stabbed in the stomach?"**

"**It's Bovver," Allie snapped. "And I wasn't technically stabbed,"**

"**Oh well goodie for me!" he quipped. "That's always nice to hear,"**

"**Look I know this is a lot to take in, but I just need you to calm down, ok? It's been a hard enough day as it is without everyone yelling at each other," Allie sighed heavily. **

**Silence fell and for a long moment, no one even looked at each other. Glancing at the nervous looking American still clinging to the doorframe for balance, Allie smiled faintly. **

"**How're you feeling?" she asked him. **

"**Me?" Matt cleared his throat. "Uh, I'm fine…a little sore I guess. What about you? Is everything, you know with the baby?"**

"**Yeah," she nodded. "It's fine,"**

"**The police are here," Matt told her quietly. "They've already spoken to me about it, but I just thought I'd warn you you're next on their list,"**

"**Alyssa Harding?" Two policemen appeared behind Matt as if on queue and peered into the busy room. "Sorry to interrupt, we know this must be a rough time but if possible, we would really like to talk to you?"**

"**Of course," she answered, shutting up Pete and her father both of who had opened their mouths at the same time to snap at the men in uniform. "Why don't you lot go and get some coffee or something?" she looked at the men around her bed all of them wearing the same expression: 'no fucking way.'**

"**Please?" she tried again. "It's only for five minutes, right officer?"**

"**We'll try and make it two," the dark haired man smiled at her knowingly. **

"**See?" she pushed Pete forward slightly. "Go, I'll be fine,"**

**Pete looked down at her seriously for a moment, but realising that she wasn't going to back down, he relented, leaning down to kiss her and then following Matt and Harry out of the room. **

"**Hey, now both of you are cripples we should set up a race," she heard her brother laugh. "See who's got the fastest crutches in the west,"**

**She smiled at the simultaneous 'fuck off' from both Matt and Pete before turning to her Dad who was still stood next to her bed, looking at her with tears in his eyes. **

"**Dad, I'll be fine," she promised him, reaching out and squeezing his hand. "Just don't be too hard on him, ok?"**

**Richard knew that she was talking about Pete but ignored the statement, simply leaning down and kissing her forehead. **

"**I'll be right outside this door," he told her firmly and then turned to look at the policemen. "I'm a lawyer, so watch how you treat her,"**

"**Yes sir," the dark haired officer grinned. "I'll be sure to smile extra wide."**

**Allie laughed as she watched her old man try hard not to laugh himself before shaking his head and walking out of the room. Looking back at the officers, she took a deep breath and looked down at her hands. **

"**So," she sighed. "I'm suppose you're going to want me to start at the beginning?"**

* * *

**Pete walked back down the hallway towards Allie's room having just dropped Matt back in recovery where they had explained that he was lucky enough to not need the crutches for more than today as the laceration to his leg hadn't been as severe as they first thought. Shaking his head, he wondered if it was possible to get some kind of family discount given how much time he had spent here the last two months…**

"**She's still talking to them,"**

**Pete turned to face Richard Harding who was leaning against the wall opposite the room, unenthusiastically sipping a cup of luke-warm coffee. **

"**Fancy a walk?" he asked, nodding his head towards the doors which led to a small garden area. "You can spare me another session of Harry's travelling stories," the old man shuddered slightly. "No father wants to know the things I've just been told,"**

**Smirking at him, Pete nodded and followed him outside; Richard was possibly the nicest bloke you could ever meet and from the first minute Pete had met him at Allie's birthday party three years ago, they had formed an unexpected friendship. More often than not Richard would tease Pete about being a 'common hooligan' while Pete affectionately referred to him as a 'grumpy old bastard.'**

"**I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier," Richard sighed, flopping down onto a bench and shaking his head. "I know you were as worried about her as I was, it's just I'm a father…worrying is what we do," he looked up at the young man who sat down beside him and laughed. "Of course, give it nine months and you'll be able to sympathise a lot more,"**

"**You were right though," Pete told him darkly. "Everything Allie's been through, it's because of me. If she'd lost that baby, or if something had happened to her…" he shook his head, not able to complete the thought for fear of physically being sick. "I mean fuck, she didn't even realise she was pregnant at first, she thought it was just the stress of what was going on with me messing her up."**

"**Come on, Pete you know what she's like," Richard laughed. ****"Always feeling that she needs to be the strong one, afraid to let anything bother her or God forbid need anyone. Her mother was exactly the same; any time anything went remotely wrong, she would go into combat mode, she would push every problem she had to the back of her mind, not paying attention to herself only focusing on the people around her."**

**Pete smiled and nodded, he was right; that just about summed Allie up. **

"**Sometimes I used to worry that you knew her better than I did, and trust me when I tell you that no father ever wants to admit that they're suddenly not the most important man in their daughters life," he laughed. "But then I would see the glow in her eyes when she talked about you, or I would hear the way she laughed when you were with her and suddenly every stupid preoccupied 'Dad worry' that I had seemed so unfounded." He leant forward slightly and smiled. "You were the only one that I would ever trust her with, the only one that I would ever be able to give her away to because I knew that you loved her more than anything else in this world, and in the end, that's all that every father wants for his daughter, is someone who will love her and treat her right." He looked Pete in the eye and held the contact. "When I lost Poppy, Allie's mother, I…Jesus, I thought that nothing would ever make it better. But then I would look at Allie, not even ten years old, running about, taking control of me and Harry and Richard, she's the most precious thing in the world to me,"**

**Richard placed a hand on Pete's shoulder and smiled. **

"**You're a good man, Pete. And I know how much you love her, but whatever it is that's causing all this," he shrugged. "I'm not even going to pretend I know, but whatever it is, it stops. Now. For her sake, for your child's sake," he snorted. "Jesus, what am I saying…for **_**your **_**sake. Just let it lie,"**

**They sat in silence for a moment and then suddenly, Richard smacked Pete around the back of the head a bit too hard. **

"**Fuck!" Pete shouted. "What was that for?"**

"**Getting her pregnant without marrying her first," Richard grinned. "Bloody hell Dunham, did they teach you nothing…Jesus, what's the hooligan equivalent of finishing school?" Pete laughed. "And besides as a father it's my right to chose to live in the self instated ignorance that my daughter is still the innocent little girl who I used to push on the swings." He pointed at Pete accusingly. "You have robbed me of that ignorance,"**

"**Sorry," Pete laughed, rubbing the back of his head. He glanced up and caught Bovver staring at them through the window; sighing Pete shook his head, knowing that he had to go in and talk to him. **

"**Be the bigger man," Richard shoved him. "If you can stand having that American around after he confessed his love for Allie, then surely you can bring yourself to hug the man who saved her life?"**

"**When the fuck did you turn into Jeremy Kyle?" Pete frowned at him. **

"**I've always been this intuitive," Richard protested. "Now I mean it, piss off and sort this all out. I'm going to go and find my sons,"**

"**Richard's here?" Pete raised his eyebrows. Richard was the oldest of the Harding clan but even in the three years he had been with Allie, Pete could count on one hand the number of times he had seen him. **

"**Nothing like a stabbing to get the family fires burning again, is there?" Richard joked slinging an arm around Pete's shoulders as they walked through the doors and into the hallway. "Take your time," he smiled. "Remember this is Allie the police are interviewing, she's probably talking to them about their uniforms and what material would be more flattering."**

**Laughing, Pete found himself a little afraid by the fact that that was probably true. Clapping the old man on the shoulder, he walked down the hall to where Bovver was stood leaning against the wall and staring into space. As though sensing Pete was there, he stood up straight and began nervously fidgeting with his jacket. **

"**Bov," Pete came to a stop in front of him and looked him in the eye; in that second it all seemed to hit him, the fact that in one day he had almost lost his fiancé and his baby and the only reason he hadn't was because of the man in front of him. The man whom he had grown up with, spent nearly every moment of his life with…the man who he had once been proud to call is brother. **

**Feeling the tears burn his eyes, he blinked them back and then did the only thing he could think of doing, he reached out and pulled Bovver into a hug, clapping him on the back and closing his eyes.**

**They stood in silence for a long moment, two brothers finally reunited through something that neither of them really wanted to think about. Seconds stretched into minutes as Bovver held him tighter, the only word uttered between them seeming to echo through the halls as Pete's voice came out as something less than a whisper. **

"**Thank you."**


	38. Chapter 38

**_Right then...although it really upsets me to say it, there are actually only 2 more chapters left before the END. I'm a bit nervous about this one but the next one will make up for any crapiness here, I SWEAR:) I have to say that the reviews of the last chapter meant so so much, a huge special thanks to SkyLineGal, The Hollister, Becki and BlackHoles-Revelations who ALWAYS give me the best reviews a writer could ask for! You guys rock! So I hope you enjoy this..._**

**Pete snuck back into Allie's room as quietly as he could; the nurses had told him that she had fallen asleep shortly after the police left and given her condition it would be better to let her rest than to wake her up. Sitting down next to the bed, he smiled at her sleeping form, covers kicked off down to the bottom of the bed, her hair falling gently over her face from where she had been tossing and turning. Leaning over he gently kissed her forehead and then let his eyes drift down to her stomach where her hands were unconsciously clasped. **

**Since he was 18, the GSE had been such a huge part of his life; more than that, it had defined who he was, it had gained him friends and a reputation. A part of him had been sure that nothing would ever change it, that he would be the Major forever, not cop out like his brother did, or meet the same fate as his Dad. That was until the girl lying in front of him had just strolled into his life and screwed everything up; every perception he had of himself, everything he had managed to convince himself he wanted had flown out the window the second she had walked into that train carriage three years ago. **

**And now…now all he wanted, all he could ever imagine wanting was her. And he'd almost lost her today. He took a deep shuddering breath as the realisation of that finally hit him: **_**he's almost lost her…**_

**Pete jumped slightly when something gently clutched his hand and he looked away from her stomach to see her smiling at him sleepily. Her bright green eyes opened completely and she yawned lightly, pushing herself up into a sitting position. **

"**Hey," she rubbed her eyes tiredly. **

"**I didn't wake you up, did I?" Pete asked her, placing a steadying hand on her back as she leant forwards, pulling the covers back up around her waist. **

"**No," she shook her head. "I didn't even realise I'd fallen asleep." Looking at his face, Allie bit her lip realising how tired he looked; this couldn't have been easy on him, Christ, the poor guy wasn't even a month out of hospital and now here he was again. "Hey," she reached out and gently touched his face. "Are you ok?"**

**Pressing her hand firmly against his cheek, Pete turned his head slightly and kissed her palm; shaking his head he remembered what Richard had said to him during their earlier conversation, **_**'She always needs to be the strong one, she'll put everything to the back of her head and concentrate on the people around her, regardless of what's happening to her'.**_

"**Bov told me what happened," he whispered, meeting her eyes and seeing the fear there. "Allie, if something had happened to you…" he felt his throat tighten and to his own horror felt yet more tears sting his eyes. Pete shook his head, unable to finish the sentence. **

"**Oh honey, come here," she whimpered, her own eyes filling with tears as she pulled him to her and let him bury his face in her shoulder, sobs shaking his body. "I'm ok," she whispered, pressing a soft kiss against his ear. "We're ok."**

**Pete didn't answer her, he just stayed there for a long moment, finally pulling away and bashfully wiping his eyes. Smiling at him, Allie reached over to the side table next to her bed and handed him the small photograph. "Look," she whispered. **

**Pete frowned, staring down at the small black and white blob in utter confusion.**

"**It's the scan," She told him with a laugh. "The nurse let me have a copy of it," she leant over and pointed to the small smudge in the centre. "That's our baby."**

**Pete felt something tighten in his chest as he met her eyes again before looking back down at the photo. Their baby…**

"**Fuck," he whispered under his breath. Allie laughed and he smirked at her, shaking his head. "I know I'm supposed to say something deep and profound, but…"**

"**No," Allie shook her head with a grin. "'Fuck' just about covers it,"**

**Pete laughed at her, pulling her down to him so that he could brush his lips over hers, revelling in the feel of how warm and eager they were. It was a feeling that he would never, ever tire of. A loud knock against the glass window interrupted them and they pulled apart.**

"**Oh, yeah, the boys are here," he told her, gesturing to the window where she could now see Dave stood there waving a multi pack of Bounty bars. She laughed loudly and waved at him, watching as Swill and the rest bounded around the corner grinning at her through the glass. Catching sight of Bovver stood away from the group but still close enough to be seen, Allie smiled at him gently. **

"**You spoke to Bov, then?" she asked, looking up at her fiancé. **

"**Yeah," Pete nodded. "I uh, I figured I kind of owe him a lot," he smiled at her. "I owe him my life really,"**

**Allie kissed him again and pulled away just enough so that she could look into his eyes, their lips still so close that when they spoke, they brushed together. **

"**I spoke to your Dad," he whispered, lightly running his tongue along her bottom lip. **

"**And?" she asked, giggling at the sensation. **

"**He twated me round the head," he told her, watching as she pulled further back, her eyes wide as she laughed. **

"**He hit you?" she clapped her hand over her mouth. "You let old man Harding bitch slap you?"**

"**You were right," he winked playfully. "The whole pregnancy before the wedding thing did piss him off…something about me destroying your innocence,"**

**Allie laughed and shook her head; her Dad could be so predictable at times. **

"**But I think I have a plan to stop him," Pete mumbled, placing a soft kiss on her shoulder. **

"**Flee the country?" Allie guessed, smiling when she felt him laugh against her skin. **

"**Tempting," he nodded. "But I was thinking more along the lines of getting married," **

**Allie looked at him as though he was crazy and held up her hand, pointing to the engagement ring and waving it in front of him. **

"**Ok, I'm actually starting to worry about that brain of yours,"**

"**As in get married next month." Pete finished. **

**Her eyes widened and she stared at him in complete shock; trust a man to think that it would be possible to organise a wedding in a month. Pulling herself round so that she was facing him more fully, Allie took his hands in hers and held them in her lap, keeping eye contact with him as she spoke as slowly as she could. **

"**Pete," she smiled. "We can't get married in a month,"**

"**Why the fuck not?" he protested stubbornly. **

"**Oh Christ, I don't know," she laughed. "Off the top of my head because we don't have a church, I don't have a dress, we'd have to get a cake, bridesmaids dresses, flowers…"**

"**You don't think it's possible to do that in a month?" Pete raised an eyebrow.**

"**Without suffering a heart attack?" she laughed and then touched the side of his face. "Baby, it is such a sweet idea and you know how badly I want to marry you because I do, I really, really do-…"**

"**So then fuck it," Pete interrupted, shaking his head. "Trust me on this, ok? Your Dad will help, so will Lara, and Harry, and you fucking know that my mum is going to be on you like a hawk so let's just…lets just do it."**

**Allie looked at him for a long moment, and saw the man who had rescued her on a train all those years ago, the scary looking –albeit ridiculously hot- hooligan who had turned her life completely upside down, and defied every assumption she had about him by making her fall so deeply in love with him that she knew there was no way she could ever stop. Allie thought about where she would be if that night had never happened, if for whatever reason she hadn't gotten on the train and had ended up going with Will and Lara; where the hell would she be? Shuddering, she realised that a life without Pete was something that she didn't ever want to think about; she had had to face it all those weeks ago when he had been hurt and for a while Allie had honestly thought that he wouldn't make it…**

**So what the hell was she sat here saying no for?**

"**Ok," she nodded, catching the surprised look on his face. **

"**Ok?" he repeated. **

"**Ok," Allie nodded, emphasising her response. What the hell was wrong with him?**

"**Fuck," Pete rubbed the back of his head. "You caved in easily, I had a whole speech planned,"**

"**Yeah?" Allie grinned, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Well, that just gives you more time to kiss me, doesn't it?"**

**Pete smirked at her before lowering his mouth down onto hers, kissing her painstakingly slowly, knowing how badly it frustrated her when he refused to deepen it. **

"**Oi!" Swill banged on the window. "Can we come in yet or what? I look like a right fucking queer with this thing." He gestured to the bright pink 'get well' balloon that he was holding and Allie laughed, motioning for them to come in. **

**They piled through the door, even Bovver though he stood by the doorway apparently unsure as to whether he was welcome or not. **

"**Hey," Allie nodded to him, and he looked up at her warily. "Come here," she held out her hand. "I never got to say thank you,"**

**Bovver walked over to the bed and muttered 'shit' under his breath when the petite blonde pulled him down to her level with surprising strength and hugged him tightly. Obviously unaware of what had gone down at the flat, the rest of the boys looked at each other in confusion. **

"**Thank you so much," Allie whispered in his ear. "You'll never, ever know how much this means to me," **

"**S'alright," Bovver told her, pulling back and looking down at his feet like a bashful little boy. "Right time, right place and all that bollocks,"**

**For Bovver that was a pretty emotional response, so she smiled at him again, letting it go for fear of humiliating the poor bastard any more than she already had. **

"**How's everything in the oven?" Swill asked her, nodding to her stomach. **

"**Fine," Allie laughed, shaking her head. There was no denying that these men had a certain way with words. "In fact, do you wanna see something cool…?" she handed him the scan photo and all the boys leant around to look at it. **

"**What the fuck is that?" Ned frowned. **

"**It's one of them, whatdoyoucallems…" Swill scratched the back of his head. "Those psychology pictures where you say what you think it is,"**

**Allie looked up at Pete in horror, watching as he looked down at the floor, his shoulders shaking as he tried to keep himself from laughing. **

"**It's a helicopter," Ned announced smugly. **

"**How the fuck do you figure that one?" Bovver shook his head, reaching past Dave and turning the photo upside down, trying to get a better read of it. **

"**So you see a chopper?" Ike raised his eyebrows. "Freud might have something to say about that,"**

"**Fucking hell, Ike," Dave laughed. "Careful using big words like that, you might get hurt,"**

"**Piss off," he muttered. **

"**You want to tell them?" Allie looked at Pete with a sigh as he grinned back at her, shaking his head and walking over to where the boys were stood, taking the picture out of Dave's hands and turning it the right way up again. **

"**It's a scan," he told them. "Not a fucking chopper," he rolled his eyes at Ned. **

"**A scan of what?" Swill frowned. **

"**See that white smudge in the middle?" he pointed and all the boys looked in closer, squinting their eyes and trying to see it. "That's our baby,"**

**Allie watched as all of their eyes widened and they stared at the photo in pure awe; it was actually pretty cute. **

"**That's your kid?" Swill laughed. "It's a bit small ain't it?"**

"**She's only 8 weeks pregnant for fuck sake," Pete rolled his eyes. "What were you expecting? An elephant?"**

"**I'm proud of you, Dunham," Dave winked, clapping the younger man's shoulder and watching the goofy grin spread across his face. "You've done well,"**

"**Yeah," Ned laughed. "Just think, three years ago we didn't even think you'd get her number, let alone knock her up."**

"**Nice, mate," Pete nodded at him and he laughed. **

"**Oi, we're only one yank short of a fucking reunion," Ike looked around. "Where is the little bastard?"**

"**Down the hall talking to Steve," Pete told him. "He'll be here in a minute,"**

"**Oi!" All eyes turned to look at the blonde girl sat on the bed, her eyes boring into theirs as she grinned. "It's all well and good hugging him, but I'm the one carrying the damn thing!" **

**Realising that they had been ignoring her, the boys immediately rushed around the bed, Dave pulling her into a hug and handing her the huge pack of chocolate. **

"**There's 20 bars in here," he told her. "I figure it should last you five hours at least,"**

"**Give it four," she told him, immediately tearing into them. **

"**Shit the bed!" Lara shrieked as she burst into the room, the giant bouquet of flowers she was holding covering half her face. "Why the hell does no one tell me anything?" she threw the flowers at Ned and put her hands on her hips. "There I am ogling the new Calvin Klein models for our shoot next month and your Dad calls me announcing that you've been on the receiving end of some Michael Myers-esque butchering!"**

"**I'm fine," Allie shook her head at her best friend. "It's just a scratch,"**

"**Oh," Lara frowned. "Well, fuck you then! I had models asking for my number as I left but I was so worried about you that I shot them all down,"**

"**Sorry," Allie grinned at her. **

"**Oh it's fine," Lara waved her hand dismissively. "We work for Vogue, we're basically a brothel for models," she winked. "There'll be other opportunities."**

"**Here," Ned held out the scan photo to the red head and watched her frown. "See what you make of this,"**

"**It's a black piece of card with a finger print smudge on it?" Lara raised an eyebrow. "This is the shittest get well card ever,"**

"**It's an ultrasound," Pete laughed. "Fuck, how is it all of our friends are retarded?"**

"**An ultrasound of what?" Lara frowned and then grinned broadly looking at Allie. "Oh my God! Is this the mini-me?"**

"**Yeah," Pete smiled at her. "It's pretty mental isn't it?"**

"**Oh my gosh," Lara whispered looking down at the photo and then back up at him. "You made this! I mean, this is…it's insane. This little thing is in there!" she pointed to Allie's stomach and then turned, practically jumping on Pete and hugging him hard. "I'm so happy for you!" she looked at Allie and put her hand against her heart. "You are going to get so fat!"**

"**I know!" Allie laughed as the red head walked around and hugged her tightly. **

"**Ooooh," Lara winked. "And I hear your boobs get huge during pregnancy," she looked down at Allie's chest with envy. "Not that you need it, you bitch,"**

"**Really?" Pete raised an eyebrow, looking fairly pleased with himself. **

**Allie shot him a look and he shrugged, putting his hands up innocently. **

"**So, when's the wedding then?" Lara asked excitedly, frowning when Allie slapped her hand away from the chocolate bars on the table. **

"**Next month," Pete answered and Lara and the boys looked at him in shock. **

"**Holy shit!" Dave laughed. "A month? Can you do that?"**

"**We're going to try," Pete shrugged, winking at Allie. **

"**Shot gun maid of honour!" Lara shouted, raising her hand. **

"**You can't shot gun wedding shit," Swill informed her. **

"**Why not?" Lara demanded. "Unless you want to be maid of honour? I'll fight to the death, you get me **_**Swine**_**?"**

"**Relax," Bovver shook his head. "He's just scared because he knows you'll look better in a dress that he ever would,"**

**They laughed and then Pete cleared his throat, nodding towards the door and the boys nodded, seeming to get the message. **

"**We're just going to run and get some coffee," Pete told the girls. "Do you need anything?"**

"**No, I'm good," Allie smiled at him. Pete leant down and kissed her softly, whispering 'I love you' in her ear as he stood back up and followed the boys out of the room. **

"**Oh, that poor man is whipped," Lara grinned as Allie laughed. "So," she sat up straighter and fixed the blonde with a determined stare. "One month means you'll be…"**

"**12 weeks gone," Allie nodded. **

"**Will you still be thin?" Lara frowned at her. **

"**Yeah," Allie laughed. "Why?"**

"**Because I learned when my Dad got remarried that shopping for a fat persons wedding dress is never fun," Lara watched as Allie roared with laughter. "And we both know that couture doesn't come in the plus sizes, so let's just hope baby Dunham decides to stay small until after the big day, huh?"**

"**I'll try my best," Allie promised her, shaking her head. **

"**Right then," Lara grinned. "Let's talk about the hen night…"**

* * *

"**What's up?" Dave asked as Pete led them out into the courtyard which he and Richard had been sat in not an hour ago. Perching on the edge of the bench, he rested his hand on his injured knee, gently rubbing the swollen joint, hoping to ease some of the pain that was shooting through it. **

"**We need to talk," Pete shook his head, not quite looking at any of them. "About the firm."**

**He knew that this needed to be done, but how was he supposed to go about it? There wasn't exactly a guide to telling your best mates that the firm which has basically taken up the majority of your life for the past six years was coming to an end…**

"**We know, mate," Dave shook his head, laughing when the younger man looked up at him with a frown, his bright blue eyes wide. "Come on, don't you think we've had this conversation when you were in a fucking coma for under a month?"**

**Pete looked at all of them and tried to figure out what the hell he was supposed to say? Why had none of them mentioned this earlier?**

"**Look mate," Bovver stepped in, sitting down on the bench next to him and looking at him with sympathetic eyes. "None of us are fucking youngsters any more are we?"**

"**Speak for yourself you grumpy old slag," Swill laughed. "I'm six months younger than you,"**

"**That still makes you 25 by my maths," Bovver frowned. "So piss off."**

"**Point is," Dave cut in, shaking his head as the two continued to bicker. "Is that before, it was all about the reputation, the thrill, all that bollocks; but now, we've got more to lose. I mean shit, you're getting hitched and having a kid, and I'm on the brink of getting fired if ask for another pilot's shirt because mine is caked in some poor bastards blood." He grinned at Pete. "And we're all waiting for Matt to admit he's gay,"**

"**Fuck off," the American called, hobbling out into the courtyard and shoving the older man lightly. **

"**Pete," Dave put a hand on his shoulder and knew he was feeling the same thing; it was ending…Pete had thought that it would only be him walking away from the GSE, but to know that all the boys were through with it…**

"**You've had the balls to do the one thing that your Dad and your brother never could," he shrugged. "You're walking away. And I've never been so fucking proud of you,"**

**Pete stared at them in silence for a long moment, all of them just staring at nothing, silently trying to work out if this was actually happening or not. **

"**Well," Swill clapped his hands and then rubbed them together. "All good things…and all that bollocks."**

"**Anyone else feel like we should play the fucking funeral march or something?" Ike shook his head. **

**Pete laughed; in the back of his mind, he had always known the day would come when he would have to walk away from the firm, but he never thought that it would bring this sense of peace with it…it almost felt like freedom. **

"**We still get to watch football don't we?" Ned asked, shrugging when all the others groaned. "What?"**

"**Ned, we're leaving the GSE, not going to some kind of pissing football rehab," Ike told him with a laugh. **

"**So we can still go down the Abby, yeah?" **

"'**Course," Pete nodded. "Terry would lose half his fucking annual income if we stopped going down there,"**

"**Shit," Swill shook his head. "Does this mean we all have to go out and get birds now?" he nodded at Pete. "Any of Allie's mates free?"**

"**Speaking of," Dave smiled. "Have you told her any of this?"**

"**Not yet." Pete shook his head. "She probably won't believe me anyway, she'll end up blaming it on the fucking morphine or something,"**

"**If she's still doped up, she might give me Kate Moss's phone number," Swill grinned, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. **

"**In your dreams you chubby bastard," Ike laughed, shaking his head. **

"**Oi!" Swill shouted. "Once the ladies see my physique," he pulled up his shirt and slapped his flat, if pale stomach. "Not to mention I've got a huge…"**

"**Please stop," Matt winced, causing Pete to laugh. **

"**How's the leg?"**

"**Good," he nodded, stretching the wounded limb out for effect and then turning back to him with a slightly darker look. "I heard about Tommy,"**

**Pete looked at Bovver who then glanced away; the police were treating it as self defence because he had been defending Allie and Matt, but that didn't change the fact that Bov had still killed a man…**

"**Yeah," Pete nodded slowly, looking down at his hands. **

"**Fuck me," Dave laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "I reckon we deserve a beer after all this."**

"**Oh, mate, I wouldn't say no," Ned pursed his lips and dug some change out of his pocket. "There's a pub across the road,"**

"**Come on, Dunham," Dave pulled him to his feet and slung an arm around his shoulders. "We got a stag do to plan,"**

"**Shit," Swill grinned. "I forgot about that," he winked at Pete. "So I'm reckoning we head to Prague on a Thursday night, that way we get an extra few hours of drinking in before the weekend kicks off…and this time can we try and go to an all female strip club? I thought I was going to have to turn fucking vegetarian after some of the shit I saw last time…"**

**Laughing loudly, Pete followed the boys out through the hospital, past Allie's room where he could see her sat on the bed with Lara giggling and flicking through a bridal magazine which Lara had just happened to have brought along with her. **

"**Where are you lot headed?" Harry asked, walking down the hall and nodding to them. **

"**Pub across the road," Swill grinned. "You in?"**

"**I bloody well am," Richard laughed, falling in line with Pete. "And what's this I hear about a stag do?"**

**Grinning, Pete slung his arm around the future father-in-law's shoulder and steered him out towards the exit. **

"**We'll get onto that soon enough," he winked. "But first I think we should explain how last time we were there, Swill very nearly got chatted up by a bird named Clive…"**


	39. Chapter 39

**_Firstly: The reviews for the last chapter were incredible! Seriously, I don't think I say it enough, but thank you all soooo much for being such constant and amazing reviewers! Some of you were asking whether I'd write another GSH story and I'd love to, but I kind of live in this GSH universe now with Pete and Allie so I'm not sure whether I should write another story about them...people will get bored! But anyway, the end is almost, almost complete...I'm finding it hard letting go so chances are contrary to what I just said, I actually WILL end up writing another P/A story:D Anyway, I've rambled enough...read, enjoy, review! xxxxxxxxxxxx_**

**It was just gone seven when Pete Dunham was rudely woken by the sound of someone banging relentlessly at his bedroom door. Having finally made the decision to move with Allie, he had happily handed his flat over to Matt but had been forced to stay in his old place last night. Frowning as he thought of Allie all alone in that big bed, he cursed the stupid tradition and padded over to the door, throwing it open and grunting at his older brother who was stood there with the biggest grin on his face that Pete could ever remember seeing.**

"**Morning little brother," Steve rubbed his hands together excitedly and then took in the younger man's appearance. "You lazy shit, tell me you're not just getting up?"**

"**Mate, it's…" Pete squinted at the clock on Matt's dresser. "7.04am. Of course I'm only just getting up, what's the fucking rush?"**

"**You do realise you're getting married in a matter of hours, don't you?" Steve shook his head. "I bet Allie's been up for ages,"**

"**Trust me, Steve," Pete laughed. "She'll still be in bed,"**

**Or with her head half way down the toilet, he thought guiltily. Even though she was in her third month and was yet to start showing the hint of a bump, Allie was still suffering from morning sickness and even though she had assured him that it had eased off since she first fell pregnant, Pete would kick himself every morning he had to listen to her throw up for hours on end. **

"**Do you know women at all?" Steve frowned at him. "Pete, chances are she hasn't even been to bed yet. And with Lara and Shannon around, the poor girl is probably digging an escape tunnel as we speak."**

"**Oi, oi!" **

**Pete smirked as he heard the rest of the flat starting to wake up; a second later, Swill and Bovver bounded into the room behind Steve and grinned at him. **

"**What's this I hear about an escape tunnel?" Swill frowned. "Not backing out already, are you Dunham?"**

"**Give the poor bastard a break," Bovver laughed, walking over and clapping his mate on the shoulder. "What time's breakfast?"**

"**An hour," Steve looked at his watch. As a present to Pete, he had booked all of the boys in for breakfast at the posh looking pub down the road and then organised for them to get ready at his house as it was closer to the church. Shaking his head slightly, Steve wondered if he would ever really be able to grasp the fact that his hellion of a little brother was getting married…and having a kid all in one go. Looking over at him, Steve felt his heart swell a little with pride as it dawned on him, not for the first time, that Pete had come a long way in the last four years. Gone was the slightly arrogant little shit who would harass him for money and more often than not land himself in messes that Steve would end up cleaning for him, and in his place was a man who as Dave had quite rightly pointed out, had had the balls to do something that neither their Dad or Steve himself had been able to do: end the GSE. **

"**In that case, we're already behind," Swill held up the bottle of champagne he'd been holding behind his back and laughed as the other men groaned. "Come on, Dunham, we can't have you walking the plank without a couple of beers in you,"**

"**Walking the plank my arse," Dave snorted, making his way into the room with Matt close behind him. "I can name at least a thousand blokes who would happily trade places with you, you lucky bastard."**

**Knowing that he was right, Pete grinned smugly; on Steve's wedding day, his brother had been a complete mess, pacing his room, muttering under his breath…but Pete just wanted to get going. The notion that by the end of today he was going to have a wife was pretty fucking cool and the fact that it was Allie, the woman who on top of being the most amazing person he had ever met and the woman who against every fibre in his being and every promise he had ever made himself had made him fall head over arse in love with her, was one of his best mates as well, just made it even better. **

"**I don't think I can drink anything," Matt grimaced as Swill handed him a glass of champagne. "Ever again…"**

"**You were pretty fiercely battered this weekend," Dave laughed. "I didn't think they were going to let you on the plane home for a few minutes,"**

"**It's all about the American charm," he grinned, cracking his knuckles and then with a 'fuck it' shrug, accepted the glass that Swill was still trying to force on him. **

"**So," Steve announced, leaning back against Matt's dresser and nodding to his brother. "A toast to my little brother," **

**All the boys held up their glasses and grinned at the tall blue eyed man who was leaning against the bed rails, still trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes. **

"**The luckiest bastard we know is about to get a whole lot luckier," he laughed and winked at Pete who was shaking his head as they all took a sip of champagne and grimaced. **

"**Oh mate," Ike winced. "That tastes like piss,"**

"**It's 17," Ned nodded, finishing the rest of what was in his glass. "For 17 I **_**would**_** actually drink piss,"**

"**Right then," Steve grinned, walking over to the wardrobe and pulling Pete's tux off the hook. "Let's get going boys,"**

**The rest of the boys, still semi hung over from the weekend of non stop drinking in Prague shuffled out of the room, leaving the two Dunham men alone together, staring at the suit with a mixture of fear and excitement. **

"**I'm really getting married aren't I?" Pete asked after a long moment. **

"**Yeah, mate," Steve laughed. "I think you are," looking over at his younger brother thoughtfully, Steve frowned. "You're not nervous are you?"**

**A small smile pulled at the corner of Pete's mouth and he looked at the floor for a moment. **

"**No," he laughed. "And you know what, I think that's the fucking scary part is that I thought when this happened, I would be shitting myself. But all I can think about is how much I…" he trailed off, suddenly realising how much he was saying and felt his face get a bit hot. "It's Allie," he grinned. "How can I be nervous about spending the rest of my life with someone I love that much?"**

**Steve didn't say anything, he just walked over and stopped in front of him, horrified when he felt a lump forming in his throat. He reached out and pulled his brother into a tight hug, clapping him on the back. **

"**I'm so proud of you, mate," he whispered with a laugh. "My little brother all grown up." He shook his head. "Fuck me, I never thought I'd see the day,"**

"**What and you think I did?" Pete laughed, pulling away from him and reaching for his drink, downing it all in one. **

"**Oi," Steve laughed. "I thought you said you weren't nervous about today?"**

"**I said I loved her," Pete shook his head. "But I've still got my balls and as long as their fully functioning, I've got every fucking right to be nervous,"**

"**You'll be fine mate," Steve shoved him towards the bathroom. "Now piss off and sort yourself out, we need to be at mine by 10 at the latest," **

"**Yeah," Pete nodded then bit his lip, turning and glancing at the phone on the bedside table. "Oi, do you reckon I should call her? Just to make sure she's still…"**

"**There?" Steve laughed. "We've got four hours to find out whether or not she's done a runner, but right now, I've got a room full of grouchy hooligans who need to be fed before they start chundering all over the living room so my advice would be to take a shower, get dressed and worry about all that shit later,"**

**He grinned at him over his shoulder as he got to the bedroom door. "And when I say later, I mean you've got the rest of your life with her."**

"**Yeah," Pete grinned glancing over at the small velvet ring box on his dresser and feeling his stomach flutter again. He couldn't wait.**

* * *

"**A part of me thinks I shouldn't be here," Allie mumbled, looking around her to check if anyone had followed her, or if she was being watched. That was the problem with this place, it was almost impossible to get some privacy. **

"**I left them a note so it's ok," she nodded to herself and sat down cross legged on the grass. "They won't think I've done a runner or anything,"**

**Smiling lightly, she forced her eyes up from her lap and stared at the grey marble in front of her, the gold letters still as bright as they had been the first day she had seen them, staring at her mockingly and flaunting the one thing that had been taken from her that she could never, ever have back. **

_**Poppy Elizabeth Harding **_

_**Born December 4**__**th**__**, 1951**_

_**Died June 24**__**th**__**, 1990**_

_**Beloved sister, wife and mother, an angel taken too soon up to heaven who brightened all our lives for as long as we knew her. **_

**Reaching out, Allie traced the letters with her fingertip and felt the familiar sting of tears behind her eyes. Fifteen years after she's lost her mother and it still hurt the same way it did when she was nine, sat on the steps of the hospital clutching her teddy bear and watching her father sobbing into his hands. **

"**So I'm getting married today," she whispered. "Everyone's going insane back at the house so I thought I'd sneak out while I could without anyone actually noticing. Funny that," she shook her head. "If the flowers aren't arranged in a certain way all hell breaks loose, but the bride goes missing for over an hour and no one blinks an eye." **

**Pulling her sweater down over her hands, Allie looked up at the brightening May sky and smiled with relief knowing that the sunlight would soon banish the early morning chill. **

"**You should see my dress," Allie gushed, leaning forward on her elbows slightly as though gossiping with her mother. "It's amazing…of course I've had to try it on every day since I bought it to make sure that it still fits," she rolled her eyes. "But this little one isn't ready to make an appearance yet," she placed a hand on her still perfectly flat tummy and sighed. "But then I kinda want the bump, you know? Not like you did though…Dad told me that when you were having Rich, you were so big that you once span around too quickly and knocked everything off the kitchen table." **

**Allie giggled to herself and pulled her hair back from her face; she was yet to have a bath or anything yet, having woken herself up early for this purpose alone. **

"**I really wish you were here," she sniffed, wiping her face as tears began falling from her eyes. "I wish you could meet Pete because I know you'd love him," she sobbed lightly and shook her head. "And I so wish that you could be here when I have this baby…because I'm so scared. You know I've read all the birthing books and squeezing something the size of a watermelon out of a hole the size of a grape doesn't sound like the party everyone's telling me its going to be," she laughed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Pete is going to be so amazing though," she smiled. "I told you he's a teacher so he's so good with kids anyway, but sometimes…sometimes when he thinks I'm asleep he'll lie there just running his hand over my stomach with this look in his eyes that I swear to God almost makes my heart stop; I've even heard him talking to it a few times," she laughed. "I didn't have the heart to tell him about that though, he'd get too embarrassed." Allie fidgeted slightly, sitting more comfortably and smiling softly at an old man who walked past her carrying a bunch of flowers over to a gravestone on the other side of the yard. Her mother, when she had found out she was dying had actually come here and picked out her own spot, under the huge willow tree right near the back of the graveyard. On the day of her funeral, Allie and her brothers Richard and Harry and their father had each planted a poppy around the gravestone for their mother; it was one of the few things that Allie could vividly remember about the day. **

"**Ok, more good news," She shook her head, trying to get her brain away from the subject of her mother's death, concentrating more on talking to her as though she was still here. "Harry and Lara are still…" she rolled her eyes. "I know, it's insane but I think they actually kind of balance each other out. He's not constantly ready to flee the country in search of the next big adventure anymore and Lara's actually…well, she's still the same as always but they make a good couple. Richard and Julia are still together…'happy' as always and still adamant that they don't want kids. Dad…" she sighed. "Dad misses you still. Especially at the moment, you know I worry that he thinks we're all just going to up and leave him now we're growing up. But saying that he's already embracing the role of Gran-dad. There's even talk of a swing set in the garden," **

"**You know what really scares me though?" she whispered. "Is that I never…" The tears started again and Allie silently cursed her hormones, knowing full well that they weren't helping the situation. "You were such an amazing mum, and I keep thinking what if…what if I'm shit at it? This kid could hate me, what if I drop the bloody thing? Or over feed it? Or under feed it? Jesus, mum I couldn't even keep Oscar alive,"**

**Oscar I had been the first in a very long line of goldfish that Allie had owned through her childhood; mysteriously, after about a month, she would find the poor bastard belly up on top of the bowl. And yet here she was having a baby? That was like the responsibility equivalent of looking after 1000 goldfish at once. **

"**In all fairness, Oscar's 4, 6 and 10 got eaten by the cat," **

**Allie jumped and turned to look at Harry who was stood behind her sheepishly with two bunches of flowers in his hand. Sitting down cross legged next to her, he placed the peach coloured daisies on the grave and then handed the purple roses to her, knowing that they were each woman's respective favourites. **

"**How did you know I was here?" she asked him, staring down at the flowers with a smile. **

"**It's your wedding day," Harry shrugged and sent her a shy smile. "Where else would you be at 8 in the morning?" he smirked at her. "Lara found your note and started hyperventilating so I thought I'd come find you before she calls Pete and scares the poor bloke to death,"**

"**And uh, how long were you stood there for?" Allie glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and saw him smile. **

"**Long enough to tell you that you, Allie-Cat don't have it in you to be a bad mother," he shook his head and chuckled. "You were nine when mum died and you stepped in and took care of us, three grown men and we had a nine year old looking after us!" he nudged her. "You're going to be amazing at it, Allie." **

**Allie nodded silently and stared at the ground, sniffing as she tried to keep her emotions under control. Looking up at the sky again, she shook her hair back out of her face and wiped her tears away with her sleeve. **

"**I didn't, um," she sniffed. "I didn't think that it would be this hard, coming here and seeing her today. My life is being tipped upside down in the next nine months and all I want is mum here to hold my hand," she half sobbed, half laughed. "Oh God! I'm 24 years old, this is so pathetic," **

"**You didn't cry for a month after mum died," Harry told her quietly, staring at the gravestone ahead of him and swallowing the lump in his throat. "Did Dad ever tell you that?"**

**Allie looked up at him in shock and shook her head; the weeks after her mother's death were a distant blur. **

"**The day she died, you just…" he sighed. "Dad walked outside and sat down on the steps crying and you walked right over to him and sat down next to him and just pulled him into this huge hug. You were holding him so tightly with those tiny little arms and it didn't seem right that someone so small had to be so strong for us,"**

**Allie closed her eyes as tears continued to pour down her cheeks. **

"**You just seemed to go into some kind of trance and it was like nothing bothered you," Harry shook his head. "Until this one night I was walking past your bedroom and you were sat in there on your own, trying to…trying to read the story book that mum had been reading to you before she got sick." Tears began making their way down his face, but he didn't dare wipe them away. "And it was too hard…you couldn't read it. So you just laid it down on the bed and you stood there holding your teddy bear and you cried for almost an hour. You didn't move from that spot, you just…cried. So I went in to see you and you looked up at me with those huge green eyes, just like mum's and you said, 'she never finished it.' And so I told you that I'd read it for you and you shook your head and looked me straight in the eye and said, 'no. I'll wait for mum to do it,"**

**Allie sobbed harder, remembering how she had stared at that book every night for almost a year before she had finally placed it in the treasure chest under her bed. She had never taken it out since. **

**Harry turned to look at her and smiled at her through his own tears, reaching out and brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes. **

"**So trust me Allie-Cat," he whispered. "You are anything but pathetic. You're the strongest person I know, and you are going to be the best mum in the world." He leant in and kissed her forehead. "I promise."**

**Allie hugged her big brother with every ounce of strength she had left in her body, not physically able to form words at that moment in time. **

"**Fuck," Harry laughed, pulling away from her after a moment. "This is supposed to be the happiest day of your life and look at you," he shook his head. "We have to get you back home before Lara rips my organs out and Pete's mum strangles me with my tie," he grinned wryly at her. "You know the woman's scary when she can even get Lara do to her bidding,"**

**Allie giggled and watched him standing up before he reached down and pulled her to her feet both of them staring down at the gravestone in silence for a short time. **

"**We'll come see you next week, ok mum?" he took his sisters hand and squeezed it gently. "We'd love to stay and chat but I kinda have to get Allie-Cat back home before her fiancé murders me,"**

**Kissing the top of her head, Harry took Allie's hand and together they walked away from their mother's grave, back to where Harry had parked his car. **

"**Are you ok?" he asked her softly, noting how quiet she had been. **

**Looking up at her big brother, she grinned and wiped her face with her sleeve, suddenly feeling much lighter. Glancing back towards where she could still just about make out the marble slab glinting in the sunlight, Allie smiled. She was marrying the man she loved, they had a baby on the way and she had the most amazing friends and family around her that she could have ever hoped for. **

"**Yeah," she nodded and squeezed his hand back. "I'll be fine."**

* * *

**Pete sat on the edge of Steve and Shannon's bed, staring at the tux hung on the wardrobe in front of him and shaking his head. He may have lied to his brother earlier when he mentioned that he wasn't scared of getting married…he was scared. He was fucking terrified.**

**Not of marrying Allie…Jesus, he couldn't even begin to imagine the rest of his life without her with him. But it wasn't her he was scared of…it was him. **

**What if he was a shit husband like his Dad had been with his Mum? Sure, Allie loved him now but what about in a few years time, what if he screwed everything up and made her realise once and for all that she could do so, so much better than someone like him?**

**And then there was the whole thing of being a father…fuck, he couldn't even think about it. When he was young, his father had been so involved in the firm that he had barely seen him, and when he had, he'd hated him with a passion because any attention he did bestow on the family went straight to Steve. What if the same thing happened with him? What if he couldn't make this kid happy? **

**Dropping his head into his hands, Pete groaned and pressed the heel of his hand against his forehead, trying to ease the tension that was building there. He needed Allie, just for five minutes to calm him down and let him know that everything was going to be ok, that she was just as scared of this as he was and that no matter what happened, she would never leave him. **

**Cursing under his breath, he remembered the stupid rule about not seeing the bride before the wedding and then rolled his eyes, pulling his phone out of his pocket and deciding that speaking to her wouldn't count. **

**Pete fell back onto the bed as he listened to the phone ringing in his ear, staring at the ceiling and nervously tapping his feet. **

"**Mate, thank fuck its you, I need you to save me,"**

**Pete frowned at the sound of Harry's voice and actually pulled the phone away from his ear for a second to make sure he'd called the right number. **

"**Why've you got Allie's phone?" he asked. "Is she alright?"**

"**What?" Harry asked him distractedly. "Oh, yeah, yeah, she's fine she's just up in her room escaping the madness but I'm in desperate need of a beer, are you lot still at Steve's?"**

"**Yeah," Pete smirked, hearing his mum's distinct cackle in the background, followed by Lara shrieking. "Fuck me, what's going on round there?"**

"**Things no man should ever have to see," Harry told him. "I'll be round in about 20 minutes; I'll just go find Allie for you,"**

**Pete listened to him climbing the stairs and then heard the faint knocking on a door. **

"**Allie-Cat?" he heard Harry call. "Phone for you…its lover boy,"**

**He heard Harry say goodbye to her and then the door shut again.**

"**If you've rung to say you're not going to be able to make it, you better having a shitting good excuse," **

**Pete laughed, feeling instantly better just from hearing her voice. **

"**Bollocks," He hissed, pretending to be annoyed. "I was planning on going with the old, 'I've lost my car keys and my mum's sick' line,"**

"**Well, points for trying, but I'm not letting you off this one," she smiled down the phone. "And besides I just opened our first wedding present so…"**

"**Oi!" Pete laughed. "What about me?"**

"**Well, to be honest it's more for you than it is for me anyway," she grinned at the confused silence on the end of the phone. "Lara bought me bridal underwear."**

"**Really?" Pete raised his eyebrows, his interest perking up somewhat. "What's it look like?"**

"**It's…well there's not a lot to it to be honest," Allie laughed, holding up the pathetic excuse for a corset and shaking her head. "You get to find out in a few hours anyway," **

"**That's a long time given I haven't seen you in two days," Pete told her. It was true, they'd had their respective hen and stag nights last weekend so that neither of them would be in an unfit state on the actual day, but with their girly trip to the spa yesterday and the boys dragging Pete out on drinking sessions every time they had more than five minutes free, he'd been missing her. **

"**I'll make it up you," she promised him, a devilish grin in her voice as she spoke. "At least four times,"**

**Pete laughed and shook his head, listening to the sound of the boys playing music through the living room as they continued drinking. **

"**How were you this morning?" he asked her gently. **

"**Ok actually," Allie smiled. "I only got sick once and then your mum force fed me the biggest breakfast in the world so I'm feeling pretty good,"**

"**She's not driving you crazy is she?" Pete frowned; ever since his mother had found out about the baby and then the wedding, she had been in full on mother mode. Sometimes he worried that it got a bit too much for Allie, but she seemed to love having her around. **

"**Are you kidding?" Allie laughed. "She's probably the only one keeping me sane, God bless the woman, she even showed up at 8 o'clock this morning with a jumbo bag of Bounty bars,"**

"**I don't know how you eat those fucking things," Pete grimaced. **

"**Hey!" she protested. "It's not me ok? Blame the baby."**

**Suddenly there was a loud noise on her end of the phone and Pete actually jumped.**

"**Allie!" he heard Lara shout. "What the hell are you doing on the phone? Now's not the time for mid morning phone sex, ok? Kurt's here and he said he wants to do you first,"**

**At this, Pete sat straight up on the bed and frowned down the phone wondering that the fuck was going on round there. **

"**Kurt's a make-up artist," Allie told him. "You can relax now, baby,"**

"**Oh," Pete nodded and then grinned. **

"**Tell Pete he can talk to you in a few hours, but right now we have dresses to put on, hair to style and spots to be hidden, so go, go, Go!"**

"**Pete?" Allie whined down the phone. **

"**I know," he grinned. "I heard, are you going to be ok?"**

"**Yeah, I'll be fine, I just…" she shrugged. "I have to go before Kurt abandons me and starts doing someone else,"**

**Pete threw his head back and laughed, rubbing his eyes tiredly and wishing once again that she was there next to him. **

"**So I'll see you at the church then," Pete nodded slowly to himself. Fuck, it felt weird saying that. **

"**Yeah, I'll be the one in white," Allie joked and then went quiet for a long moment. "You'll be amazing."**

"**What?" Pete frowned. "At the wedding?"**

"**No," Allie shook her head and smiled. "Well, I'm sure you will but I meant at the other stuff. The stuff you think that I don't know you think about; like being a father, being my husband," her stomach fluttered and she grinned at the word 'husband'. "Pete, I know you'll be the best father in the world…and as for me." She shrugged. "Just make good on the vows and never stop loving me,"**

**Pete stared straight ahead, slightly mortified as he felt his eyes stinging with tears; how the fuck did the woman read his mind like that? And even scarier, how did she always know exactly what to say to put his mind at rest?**

"**I love you," he told her. "I love you so much,"**

"**I know," Allie smiled. "I love you, too, and you can tell me again later,"**

"**I might, and I might not," Pete teased her. "Depends if you show me that underwear or not,"**

"**I'll see what I can do," Allie grinned. "I'll see you soon, ok?"**

"**Yeah," Pete took a deep breath. "I'll see you soon,"**

"**I love you," Allie smiled. **

"**Yeah, I love you too Pete," Lara shouted. "But right now I need you to get off of the fucking phone so that I Kurt can do your fiancé!"**

"**Alright, fuck me, I'm going!" Pete shouted back and Allie winced. "Shit, sorry, baby."**

"**It's fine," she laughed. "Go enjoy your last few hours of freedom with the boys,"**

"**I'll try," he rolled his eyes. "See you later, Harding,"**

"**Ok, but Pete?" **

"**Yeah,"**

"**It's not Harding," she grinned down the phone. "It's Dunham,"**

* * *

**Allie paced the small entrance hall to the church, casually glancing at the small, ancient looking mirror on the wall and checking for the millionth time that she hadn't spilt anything down her dress. The simple strapless silky white gown fit her perfectly, and Lara had called the same man who worked on all the models at Vogue to take care of everyone's hair and make-up. So now all that was left to do was actually get married and then have the baby.**

_**Oh shit, **_**she thought, bracing herself on the small table and letting her head drop down to her chest. This was scary; this was very, very scary. **

"**You'll have to do better than pretending to be asleep," **

**Allie opened her eyes at the sound of her father's voice and smiled up at him as he nervously straightened his tux and then grinned at her. **

"**What happened to my little girl?" he shook his head, looking at her in amazement. "When did she become this gorgeous woman?"**

"**Did you take the blue pill today?" Allie joked, smiling when he laughed. **

"**I'm serious," he reached out and took her hand. "I don't think I say it enough, and I know that for the past few years I've been shit at being here for you. But not a day goes by when I don't thank my lucky stars for you. And as much as I don't want to see you grow up and leave home, I'm glad you've found Pete," he smirked. "Don't tell him I said this, but God help me I actually quite like the bloke."**

"**He knows," Allie smiled. **

"**Bugger!" her Dad laughed. "I thought we were still in the phase when I could scare him into doing whatever I wanted," pulling a small box out of his pocket, he gestured to the diamond necklace she was wearing. "I know you've already got everything sorted and I did mean to get this to you earlier, but…" **

**He opened the small box and Allie gasped at the simple pearl necklace inside. She didn't have to ask where that came from, she'd recognise it anywhere. **

"**You're mum hadn't worn this in a long time," he told her, taking it out of the box and unclipping it. "So I had to get it cleaned up properly, but if you want it, it's yours,"**

"**Oh Dad," Allie shook her head, feeling yet more tears sting her eyes. "Thank you so much," she reached up and unhooked her own necklace, handing it to him and taking the small pearl one, careful not to get it tangled in her hair as she fastened it. **

"**Stunning," Richard grinned at her as she looked back up at him. **

"**Thank you," she whispered. "Not just for this, I mean for everything."**

"**Believe me, Allie-Cat," he whispered back, leaning in and gently kissing her forehead. "The pleasure has been all mine,"**

**Taking her hand, both of them looked up at the large wooden doors, Allie's stomach flip-flopping as the first few chords of Pechebel rang through the church. **

"**That's our queue," he grinned, offering her his arm. "I've got you kiddo, its ok,"**

**Allie nodded and linked her arm through his, taking a huge deep breath and feeling slightly ill as the doors swung open and she was presented with the huge array of family and friends staring at her with huge smiles on their faces. **

**Ahead of her she could just about make out Ben and two of the flower girls stumbling down the isle, before Lara and Steve walked up in front of her, Lara turning and winking at her playfully as they made their way towards the altar. **

**It was then that she saw him, standing there looking as nervous as she felt, trying so hard not to tuck his hands into his pockets out of habit. Suddenly she felt her Dad tugging on her arm and then realised that they were moving…oh shit, they were moving. **

**Meeting Pete's eyes, she saw the huge grin on his face and smiled back, then giggling loudly when she felt her Dad trip slightly next to her. Reaching the altar, he let go of her arm and turned to Pete who was staring at her with his mouth hanging open. She looked…fucking hell, how was he supposed to get through this when she looked like that?**

"**She's all yours," Richard told him with a sad smile. "Take care of her,"**

**Pete smiled back at him and reached out, clapping him on the shoulder, letting him know that if there was anyone out there who could love Allie as much as her father did, it was Pete Dunham. **

**Leaving them on the altar, Richard took his seat next to Harry and Richard who were staring at their little sister with so much pride that he actually felt tears sting his eyes. **

"**Alright?" Pete whispered to Allie as the priest asked everyone to sit down. **

"**Not bad," she grinned. "You?"**

"**You look fuc-…" he stopped and glanced at the priest who luckily hadn't heard. "You look incredible,"**

"**You, too," she laughed quietly. Pete Dunham wearing a tux was never something to be missed…she'd learnt that a long time ago. **

"**Shall we begin?" the priest asked them, opening his bible and looking back and forth between them. **

"**If you want," Pete shrugged and Allie burst out laughing. Jesus, the man was a liability. **

"**Uh, I mean, yeah," he wiped his hand over his face. They hadn't even gotten to the part where he had to speak yet and already he was fucking things up….**

"**Right then," the old man grinned, clearing his throat and then looking up at the congregation. "Dearly beloved…."**

* * *

"**This is so surreal," Allie shook her head, staring down at the silver band on her finger and then at the matching one on Pete's. "I mean, look at this!" **

**She held up a silver envelope with a distant relative had just handed her with **_**Mr and Mrs Dunham **_**written on it. Pete grinned and took another sip of champagne, personally, he liked the sound of that. A lot. Looking around the Harding mansion, it was hard to believe that this was now his and Allie's house; Richard's wedding gift had been to hand it over to them to do with as they saw fit, and Pete had acted pretty quickly on that, with some help from the boys obviously. They had set up a huge marquee on the back lawn and filled the swimming pool with floating candles, creating an almost fairy tale look. All Pete had cared about was that Allie was there and that she said yes, but he knew how important all the other stuff was to her, so he'd gone full hog getting it all set up.**

"**Did you see my mum crying?" Pete shook his head and handed Allie her flute of orange juice, noticing that she was eyeing up his glass of champagne with envy. **

"**No, I was too busy looking at my brothers crying like a couple of girls," she laughed, gesturing to Harry who was working his way through one of the many bottles of free champagne strewn about the bar. **

"**Oh," she narrowed her eyes at him, jabbing her finger playfully into his chest. "Which reminds me, I cannot believe you slipped me the tongue on our first kiss!"**

"**He said kiss the bride," Pete grinned. "What did you want? A peck on the cheek?"**

"**No," Allie laughed. "But the priest already thinks I'm some kind of bloody whore for being 'with child' before marriage!"**

"**Speaking of," Pete put their glasses on the side and smirked at her. "Not you being a whore," he shook his head. "Do you want your first wedding present or not?"**

"**Yeah I do!" Allie squealed excitedly, following him through the crowd as he pulled her along behind him, avoiding the curious and amused stares. They made their way into the house, past all the caterers and chefs who smiled at the happy couple as they made their way through the foyer and up the curved staircase. It was at this point in time that Allie raised her eyebrows and laughed tugging on her husband's hand. **

"**Are you kidding me?" she giggled. **

"**What?" Pete frowned and then saw the look on her face. "No," he shook his head. "We've got two weeks for that," he winked and then looked her up and down. "Although I wouldn't say no if you wanted to-…"**

"**Make with the present, Dunham," she rolled her eyes. **

"**Alright," Pete took a deep breath and leant down to gently brush his lips over hers. Pulling away after a long moment, he kissed her nose and grinned. "Keep the eyes closed, ok?"**

"**Ok," Allie smiled nervously, frowning when she heard a door open. Pete stepped up behind her and guided her down a step until she felt her feet leave the wooden floors and land on plush carpet. Where the hell was she?**

"**Alright," he whispered, keeping his arms locked around her waist, his head resting on her shoulder. "You can open them."**

**Immediately Allie's eyes snapped open and she gasped, her hand flying up to cover her mouth as she looked around the room. It was painted a pale lilac colour, with all the cupboards and wardrobes a rich cream. All along the walls there were stencils of the alphabet and the ceiling was covered with little gold stars. Next to the large bay window there was a huge cream coloured crib with lilac blankets and an embroided cover over it with a teddy bear mobile suspended above it. **

"**Oh my God!" Allie whispered against her hand, feeling Pete smile as he pressed a kiss against her shoulder. **

"**The purple was Steve's idea," he told her. "I figured that because we don't want to know what we're having it was best to go for a colour that would work for both," he frowned. "Purple can be manly, right?"**

"**I can't believe you did this," she laughed, wiping her eyes gently so as not to disturb her make up and leaning back against his chest. **

"**Yeah well," Pete gently laid his hand on her tummy and smiled. "I figured the more prepared we are now, the more time it actually gives us to do this,"**

**He spun her around and silenced her surprised giggle by slanting his mouth down over hers, pulling her closer to him until her feet had left the ground. **

"**I love you," she whispered against his mouth, playfully tugging on his bottom lip with her teeth. **

"**I love you," he told her, his eyes boring into hers so intensely that she felt the familiar flutter in her stomach…she knew what that look usually led to. Ok, so maybe the guests wouldn't miss them for half an hour or so…**

**Just as Pete prepared to kick the door shut, Lara bounded into the room with her camera and clicked it, illuminating the dazed couple and causing spots to dance in front of Allie's eyes. **

"**Ooooh," Lara raised an eyebrow. "There's one for the mantle piece," she winked at them and then gestured to the room. "So, Mrs. Dunham, what do you think?"**

"**Wait, you knew about this?" Allie frowned. "You're shit at lying…especially to me!"**

"**I have my moments," she winked at Pete. "But you have to come back downstairs with me," she pointed at Allie and flicked a strand of her curled auburn hair out of her eyes. "No one believes me that me, you and Jack know the entire footloose routine and I need you to help defend our honour,"**

"**Oh Jesus," Allie mumbled, dropping her head onto Pete's chest and feeling him laugh. **

"**Oh, come on, this I have to fucking see," he pulled her upright and dragged her down the hallway. **

"**No!" she cried. "I won't do it! It's not fair, you're pissed and I'm not!"  
"Well you should have thought about that four months ago you big whore, now come on!" Lara shrieked as the first few bars of the song began to blare out into the marquee. Allie followed her, covering her face with her hands as the 150 people began applauding her, including Pete who stood at the side and gestured for her to join Lara. It didn't take a genius to recognise the word 'Bastard' when the woman you just married was mouthing it at you. **

"**Harding!" Jack hisses, grabbing her hand. "Dunham, Jesus, whatever the hell your name is," he shook his head. "This is it, ok? Screw making the vows, this moment right here, is going to be the defining moment of your wedding day, so make it good. And remember, its all about the arse."**

"**Hey, hey," she held up a hand and snorted. "You are talking to the master, ok? I am the Mr Myagi of Footloose, alright?"**

**Pete pissed himself as he watched her raise a challenging eyebrow at him and she kicked off her shoes, throwing them over to Matt who caught them and winked at her. If she was going to subject herself to this level of humiliation, God damn it, she was going to do it properly…**

* * *

"**I can't believe…" Allie stopped, her words dissolving into laughter once more. "I can't believe you knocked that poor bridesmaid on her arse…doing that….that weird dance thing!"**

**It had just gone 2am and only she, Lara, Harry, the boys and of course Pete were left standing…or sitting really. They'd resigned themselves to the various sun lounges strewn about by the swimming pool; the odd bottle of champagne still being passed around while Allie quite happily dug into what she suspected was her fourth piece of wedding cake. **

"**Oh mate, that was fucking brilliant," Dave snorted. "What were you trying to do anyway?"**

"**You're all just ripping the piss because you know that I have classy moves," Swill held up his hands. "And as for that bridesmaid, she should have seen it coming; you don't just stand still during a song like that."**

"**There wasn't any music playing mate," Bovver looked at him completely dead pan. "It was just you singing 'baby got back' at the top of your fucking lungs,"**

"**But she still should have known," Swill protested, knocking back the remainder of his champagne before reaching for the newly opened bottle. **

**Allie leant back against Pete who was looking down at her with the same dozy smile he always had after one too many beers, but he still looked stupidly cute. **

"**Alright, Dunham?" he asked her with a grin so wide she worried his skin might actually tear. **

"**Hmmm," she laughed, snuggling back into him further and smiling when he brushed a piece of hair off of her neck, gently brushing his lips over the skin. **

"**That sounds weird,"**

"**I know," he laughed against her skin, tickling her slightly. "But it sounds pretty fucking great as well,"**

"**I can't believe my wedding day is over," Allie shook her head, looking around at her closest friends in the entire world and sighed. It had all gone so fast, the last months with Pete being in hospital, finding out she was pregnant and then ending up in hospital herself. She shook her head, it all felt far too surreal to even comprehend right now…**

"**I still can't believe you married **_**him,**_**" Dave pointed over her shoulder at Pete and everyone laughed. **

"**Oi, fuck off," Pete frowned. "It was the Dunham charm, alright? I pulled off all that knight in shining armour bollocks, birds fall for it every time,"**

"**Oh really?" Allie laughed, turning in his arms and looking at him with one eyebrow raised. "See I barely gave you a second thought once I left the train station," **

"**You filthy liar!" Lara laughed, pointing a finger at her best friend. "You wouldn't shut up for about a week, and I think most of the comments you had centred around Pete's –and I quote- really, really, really, amazing body,"**

"**Didn't given me a second thought, did you?" Pete grinned smugly at her. **

"**Sod off," she rolled her eyes. **

"**No come on," he laughed, pulling her back to him. "You know you can't stay angry at me," he smirked. "Or my really, really, really amazing body,"**

"**You're such a wanker," Allie shoved him playfully and he laughed, catching her hand in his and kissing it. "And besides," she pointed at Lara. "You can't talk; **_**you**_** thought he was going to kill me!"**

"**What?" Pete pissed himself laughing as for the first time in three years he saw Lara Knight lost for words. "You thought I wanted to kill her?"**

"**Amongst other things," the red head protested. "But then I met you and decided you were nice,"**

"**Translation: she wanted to shag you." Allie grinned at the shriek of outrage her friend gave, sitting up straight and throwing a cork at her head. **

"**Alright," she narrowed her eyes menacingly. "Pregnant or not I will so take you down if I have to,"**

"**Quivering," Allie told her. "I am actually quivering with fear,"**

"**Right, ok," Harry held up a hand and frowned. "Am I the only one here who doesn't know how you two really met?"**

**Allie and Pete looked at each other, both remembering that night on the train almost four years ago now; it still felt like yesterday. **

"**Oh that is a long story and we have to be on a plane in what?" Allie looked down at Pete's watch. "Six hours?"**

"**I'll tell it if you want," Swill grinned. "See it all started when your sister got on the train, blatantly making eyes at me by the way but knowing I was out of her league, apparently settled for Dunham…"**

"**Fuck off!" Pete laughed. **

"**No actually, that's true," Allie nodded. "My order was Swill, Dave,"**

"**Nice," Dave winked at her. **

"**Ned, Ike, Bov, Keith and then you," she shrugged. "And you were easy so…"**

"**Right," Pete sat up and grabbed his beer, shaking his head with a definite grin on his face. "You had better sit tight my man," he nodded to Harry. "Because I am going to fucking tell this story properly, alright?"**

"**This should be good," Allie laughed, settling back against the lounge chair and smiling when Pete pulled her feet into his lap and winked at her. **

"**So we'd just been to a Hammers match," he looked at the boys. "Great night, semi-pissed out of our heads and then out of nowhere, this blonde bird walks into the carriage…"**

**_...39 down, 1 to go... :( _**


	40. Authors Note :

**Hey guys, **

**Sorry, I know its a bit evil of me to lead you on and make you think I'm posting another chapter, but alas, this is just a bit of a rant.**

**First of all its a huge thank you for all of the brilliant reviews and immensley loyal readers who've kept me going with their genuinely a_wesome _reviewing skills and who've put up with both the good and the down right crap of some of this story:D**

**So the last ever chapter of GS: WCHB is up in a few days (yes, I finally finished) but I wanted to let you know that for shere self indulgent reasons on my part, I will actually be posting a few more GSH themed pieces that I found laying aimlessly around my computer, most of which are kind of 'fillers' which I originally wanted to publish as part of this story but felt they would make it too long. (Let me know if you think its a horrendously bad idea!)**

**Anyway, enough of me, hope you're enjoying chapter 39 (please keep reviewing!) and you'll be hearing from me in a couple of days...;) **

**much love,**

**Ella xxx**


	41. The End

**Oh my God! I can't believe this is it! I got scared writing this because I kinda had a mild case of the crazies and changed it all at the last minute, but I'm happy with it so I hope you guys are as well! I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review and I mean everyone, you've been so, so wonderful! I'm going to make good on my promise to post more GSH fics but this one was kind of my baby so be kind when you review this chapter! **

**This is especially for Becki who waited so patiently…don't worry guys, this isn't the end of my GSH OCD obsession...oooh, far from it! Enjoy!**

**EPILOGUE**

**Allie Dunham stared down at the birthday cake with more pride in her heart than she had actually thought a few layers of sponge, jam and icing would have ever been able to cause. But given her history with cooking, she was pretty damn amazed it had come out as well as it had. **

"**Fuck me!" **

**She jumped as Pete practically fell into the kitchen and slammed the door behind him, leaning on it for support and looking up at her with a mixture of pure fear and desperation. Glancing up at her husband of almost five years, Allie burst out laughing; he was sporting a Harry Potter-esque scar on his forehead and had what looked like the start of a rainbow on his left cheek. She'd warned him that four year olds and face paints don't mix….**

"**They got you, too huh?" she raised an eyebrow, picking up the spoon that still had cake mixture on it and licking some off. "It looks like you got off lightly," she pointed the whisk at him. "You should see what they did to Matt,"**

"**They're like a pack of wild animals," Pete shook his head, his eyes wide in horror. "And fuck me can they run."**

**Glancing out of the window into the huge garden, Allie grinned seeing her father making good use of the bouncy castle they had hired, and behind him she could just about make out Matt and Steve trying to coax Ben out of one of the trees which he had climbed up to prove the point that it wasn't just a costume he was wearing…he **_**was**_** Superman.**

**Grinning at his wife, Pete walked around the huge counter and stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her neck. Today had been surreal to say the least…eight years ago, he hadn't even known the woman in his arms, but now here he was married to her and at their child's fifth birthday party. **

**It definitely fell into the category of fucking insane. **

"**I missed you this morning," he whispered against her skin, gently scraping his teeth along it and feeling her shiver. **

"**I know," Allie sighed, her hand coming up to cup the back of his head, rubbing the sensitive spot on his neck that always drove him crazy. With the stress of getting the party together and work, they hadn't exactly had a lot of opportunities for some alone time, three days to be exact and Pete was going to make sure that he got one morning with her this week, even if it meant calling in sick. He always had to get up early to go to work and then Allie would get their own little one ready and then head into work herself so it was a rare occasion that they saw each other before 3 in the afternoon now. Which wasn't acceptable in Pete's eyes…**

"**That's why next weekend, I'm taking you out," Pete told her, spinning her around so that she was facing him and wiping some flour off of her nose. **

"**What?" she asked, her green eyes flashing with excitement. **

"**This weekend, we can do whatever you want," he grinned. "Steve and Shannon said they'd baby-sit so I thought we could get some wine in, maybe some dinner and then we can just…" Pete raised his eyebrows suggestively and Allie laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. **

"**Hmmm," she sighed, giggling when he licked some icing off of her finger. "That sounds pretty perfect," **

"**Thought you might appreciate it," Pete told her, watching the way her tongue quickly snuck out to wet her lips. **

"**Oh, don't try the whole selfless martyr crap with me, Dunham," Allie laughed. "I know this has more to do with you getting laid than it does with helping me relax,"**

"**You know me too well," Pete laughed, tilting her chin up and letting his eyes drift away from hers, down to her mouth. **

"**I'm not complaining," she smirked, falling back against the counter when Pete finally gave up toying with her and crashed his mouth down on top of hers. **

**They had an army of four year olds, not to mention all their friends and family less than ten feet away from them, so this was far from being appropriate, but hearing the growling noise emanating from Pete's throat as he pushed his hands up under her peach coloured silk camisole, Allie shoved that thought right back out of her head. **

"**Mummy! Daddy!"**

**Pete and Allie immediately shot apart from each other, frowning as the small blur which had burst into the large kitchen fell to the floor; before either of them had time to panic or run around to check what was going on, the familiar head of blonde curls popped up from behind the huge breakfast island in the middle of the kitchen, the lady bird hairclips barely taming the wildness of her hair as she skipped around the counter and stopped in front of the two astounded adults. **

**At the age of five, Poppy Dunham was the exact reincarnation of her mother, with the exception of her bright blue eyes which she had inherited from her father. **

**Her white dress which she had forced Pete to fold up three different ways last night to ensure it didn't get creased before her party was still miraculously spotless, but her face was smeared with some flour which Allie must have spilt on the floor. Sneezing twice, she sent Allie and Pete a semi-toothless grin which was impossible not to return. **

"**Are you ok, baby?" Pete asked her, crouching down in front of her and pulling her up into his arms. Immediately, her chubby little hands tightened around his neck and he smiled, the familiar scent of her hair filling his nostrils as she snuggled into his chest. **

"**Guess what?" Poppy squealed, glancing back and forth between her parents, apparently willing to forget about her fall. "I can bounce higher than anyone else on the bouncy castle, even Uncle Matt and Uncle Harry!"**

"**No way!" Allie shook her head, squinting at her daughter playfully. "Really?"**

"**Yep," she nodded proudly. "And I ate more sweets than Ben did,"**

"**How many did Ben eat?" Pete grinned at her, placing her on the counter and watching her huge blue eyes light up when they landed on the bowl of unfinished cake mix. **

"**Ben ate two," she told him diplomatically, dipping a finger into the mix and licking it off. **

"**And how many did you eat?" Allie asked her, leaning on her elbows and smiling when Poppy reached out and started fiddling with her charm bracelet that Pete had given her the first Valentines day they had been together; even when she had been a baby, Poppy had had a thing about it. **

"**Two hundred," she bit her lip and closed her eyes, whispering numbers under her breath. "And forty-twenty-one," she held up three fingers for effect.**

"**Wow!" Pete laughed, shaking his head at Allie who was laughing too. "That's loads! And you don't feel sick?"**

"**Nope," Poppy beamed up at him and then pulled something out of her pocket. "And I saved one for you and mummy," she handed each of them a gummy bear and Allie actually felt her heart leap. She knew that all parents were convinced that their kid was the smartest and the cutest, but damn it, hers actually was. **

"**Daddy can you be on my team when he play hide and seek because Ben said that he's going to let Uncle Steve be on his team and I don't want them to win because boys are smelly and I hate Ben because he stole my Harry Potter wand and won't give it back,"**

**Pete looked down at his daughter, trying to process what the fuck she had just said to him as she stared straight back at him with her blue eyes wide as saucers. **

"**Please Daddy?" she begged, tugging on his hand. **

"**You and me?" Pete asked her and she nodded vehemently. "Do I have to?" he pretended to be reluctant. **

"**Daddy!" Poppy laughed, shaking her head, blonde curls bouncing wildly. "You're not funny!"**

**Allie laughed and winked at her little girl who stuck her tongue out and then giggled in return. **

"**Oh, I'm not funny?" Pete raised an eyebrow. "So I guess who won't laugh if I do this…"**

**Grinning, he began tickling her sides, laughing as the little girl began squealing and giggling loudly, trying to squirm out of his grasp. **

"**Ah!" she screamed. "Mummy, help me!"**

"**You want some of this?" Pete looked at Allie and smirked as she backed away slightly. **

"**No," she laughed, pointing at him and shaking her head. "Pete, no…NO!" **

**She screeched as he pulled her to him, tickling her with one hand and Poppy with the other. Laughing at them, he eventually stopped, grinning when Allie smacked his chest and Poppy simply continued to giggle, swinging her legs against the counter. **

"**You are such an…" Allie trailed off, shoving her husband playfully and giggling when he caught her arms and pulled her in for a kiss. **

"**Mummy!" Poppy wrinkled her nose and clapped her podgy little hands over her eyes. "Stop it!"**

**Pete pulled away from Allie and mouthed 'later', instead reaching out and picking Poppy up, placing her back on the floor. It was then that Matt walked in, rubbing his face dry, apparently having washed the 'I love Barbie' sign on his forehead along with the hearts and stars on his cheeks. His eyes landed on the pint size Dunham and he froze, wondering if he could run before she caught him. **

"**Uncle Matt!" she cried, running over to him. "Will you be on my team for hide and seek with Daddy and Uncle Dave and Uncle Harry and everyone!"**

"**Everyone, huh?" Matt grinned at her. Pete has asked him to be her Godfather but she still referred to him as her uncle along with all the other former members of the GSE, of course, Matt would never quite get used to the way she called them by their real names. Stuart Bovverington and Simon "Swill" Wilkins…who would've thought it?**

"**Yeah and we have to win!" Poppy grabbed his hand and jumped up and down. "Please, please, please, please play with us!"**

"**Alright, I'm in," Matt told her, turning around and gesturing for her to climb on his back. "Come on," he told her. "Every princess needs a noble steed, right?"**

"**Barbie has a car," Poppy told him, climbing on and wrapping her little arms around his neck. **

"**Yeah, well you're a good thirteen years of that one, kiddo," Matt laughed, hooking his arms under her legs and winking at Pete and Allie. **

"**Giddy up!" Poppy kicked and Matt sped back into the garden. Allie stared out the window as he dropped her playfully onto the bouncy castle and then got bundled on to it himself by the rest of the boys. Poppy jumped on top of them, making both Allie and Pete laugh when she blatantly accidentally elbowed Bovver in the nuts. **

"**I swear to God it was only yesterday we brought that screaming, wrinkly looking thing home from hospital," Pete shook his head, watching as she started dancing with Lara again, and then frowning when one of Ben's little friends ran up to her, handing her a daisy and kissing her on the cheek. **

"**What the fuck was that?" Pete almost shouted. **

"**I think it was a six year old giving our daughter a flower and then kissing her cheek," Allie raised her eyebrows and laughed, rubbing his arm. "Christ, if you're this bad now, what the hell are you going to do when she starts dating?" Allie teased. "And look at her: blonde hair, blue eyes, the girls going to be trouble,"**

"**Well that's why I'm fucking glad this one's a boy," Pete let one hand slip down to the small bump on her stomach. She was three months pregnant and Pete was having a hard time figuring out who was more excited out of the three of them…him, Allie or Poppy? Since the first day Allie had come home with a copy of the ultrasound Poppy had been gunning for a baby brother. And whilst Allie knew that he would be happy whatever, she knew Pete wanted a boy, too. The look on his face when the doctor had accidentally blurted out what they were having was something that she would never, ever forget. **

"**What so he can chase away any boys that so much as look in her direction?" Allie asked, reaching up and pulling Pete's lips down to hers, kissing him deeply and giggling when he backed her away from the window. **

"**Exactly," Pete mumbled against her lips, running his hands down her back and up the back of her shirt. **

"**Well to be honest, between you, her army of uncle's, not to mention Ben who's already watching her like a hawk and he's only six, our girl is going to have enough trouble as it is," Allie smiled as Pete kissed his way down to her neck. **

"**Sounds like her mum," Pete smirked, reaching the strap of her silky camisole and pushing it to the side. **

"**Oi!" Allie laughed, slapping his shoulder. "I was a good girl up until I met you," she grinned as he raised his head to look at her, his eyes twinkling. "You corrupted me,"**

"**I like to think so," Pete growled, pulling her even closer before picking her up and sitting down on one of the nearby chairs so that she was sat on his lap. Suddenly, she squeaked and he immediately pulled back, afraid he'd hurt her somehow. **

"**What?" he demanded. "Are you ok?"**

"**Yeah," Allie laughed. "Yeah, I'm fine just…" she reached out and grabbed his hand, placing it on her swollen stomach and watching his eyes light up. "Can you feel that?" **

"**Fuck," Pete laughed, feeling the movements under his hands. The whole time Allie had been pregnant with Poppy he had always been so excited if the slightest thing happened and baby number two wasn't going to be any different. **

"**Whoa," Allie jumped. "Someone's in a crappy mood today." She looked down at the bump with a frown. "I know you're pissed but can you possibly try not taking it out on mummy's bladder?"**

**Pete laughed and rubbed the bump soothingly, pressing a kiss against her temple and smoothing some of her hair back. **

"**Does it hurt?" he asked her softly, not really wanting to know the answer.**

"**No," she smiled, running her hand down his cheek. "It's just…weird." Looking at him for a long moment, Allie –not that she ever forgot- was stuck by just how gorgeous her husband was…hmmm, she'd gone through her horny stage with Poppy at about three months, maybe it was just an ongoing thing with this one. **

"**You know what I was thinking the other day?" she asked him, leaning her head back on his shoulder as he continued to rub her stomach. **

"**What?" he mumbled against her neck. **

"**If someone had told you eight years ago that night we met on the train that we'd end up here, what would you have said?" she laughed at the look on his face. "Or would you have even believed them?"**

"**Honestly?" he grinned. "I would have thought they were fucking nuts, I mean don't get me wrong I wanted to…" Pete caught himself and nervously scratched his eyebrow. "I thought you were…"**

**Allie forced herself not to smile, looking at him expectantly and enjoying making him squirm a little more. **

"**Bollocks," he laughed. "I've ballsed this up good and proper, haven't I?"**

"**Slightly," Allie grinned. "But I'll let you off…besides; I was **_**this **_**close to jumping you, so I can't talk,"**

"**Really?" Pete grinned smugly at her. **

"**Oh come on," she laughed. "Rugged, bad boy-esque, tall, gorgeous blue eyed stranger saves girl on the underground?" Allie snorted. "Pete, that's like every girls personal fantasy."**

"**I'll keep that in mind," he grinned, pulling her in for another kiss. **

**Allie pushed his shirt up slightly and her eyes drifted down to the long jagged scar that ran over his stomach; she shivered thinking about just how different things could have been…how close Poppy had been to not knowing her father, how close this little thing inside her had come to not having the chance to exist. **

**Closing her eyes, Allie fought to keep her emotions in check and opened them only when she felt Pete's finger tips tracing her features. She was glad for the distraction, the dark place she had been going to was something that she never, ever wanted to think about. **

"**Matthew," he mumbled against her collar bone and she laughed. **

"**No," she slapped his shoulder playfully. "I told you there was boy in my class called Matthew when I was little and he used to pour dirt down my back." She tilted her head and looked at him pleadingly. "Noah,"**

"**It's gay," Pete shook his head. **

"**How is Noah gay?" she laughed. "Ok, fine, James?"**

"**Too common," Pete shook his head. "George?"**

"**George?" Allie raised an eyebrow. "Noah is too gay, but George isn't?"**

**Coming up with Poppy's name had been so easy; given she picked her grandmothers birthday to make an appearance they had decided that in a strange way the name had kind of picked her. And besides, Pete knew how much it meant to Allie to name their daughter after her mum. But when it came to boys names, they were having serious trouble. **

"**How about Lloyd?" Allie asked. **

"**As in the chemist?" Pete frowned. **

**Just when some rather unholy words were about to leave her mouth, Allie looked up as Dave and Swill strolled into the kitchen, each of them nursing a beer and sporting smudges of face paint all over themselves. **

"**You're daughter's a little angel." Swill told them. "But her mates," he rolled his eyes. "Fuck me, did you ever see that film The Omen?"**

**Pete laughed and shook his head as Allie stood up and pulled him with her. **

"**They're not that bad," he grinned at his mates. **

"**No, mate, I shit you not, one of 'em was trying to draw 666 on me," he held out his arm. "I washed it off though, just in case the little shit was actually trying to call Satan or something," he pointed back and forth between Allie and Pete. "I mean it, kids these days get into all sorts of shit,"**

"**Cheers for that, mate," Pete shook his head and glanced at his wife who was too busy laughing and preparing the birthday cake. **

"**Oh Jesus, yeah, more sugar," Dave panted, completely out of breath from being chased. "That's just what they need,"**

"**You get to have some too," Allie winked at them. **

"**Sweet," Swill grinned, rubbing his hands together. "Oi, do you reckon I could have one of them goodie bags as well?" **

**Dave, Allie and Pete pissed themselves laughing and Swill simply stood there, his face completely serious. **

"**You think I'm joking?" he slapped Dave across the back. "Mate there's some fucking cool toys in them."**

"**Right," Allie rolled her eyes. "Let's go and find the birthday girl before she completely annihilates Bov," she nodded to the window where Poppy was waving to them from her position perched on top of Bovver's shoulders, forcing him to run around the garden after Matt with a water pistol. **

**Swill opened the door to the kitchen and then stopped dead when he saw the army of five years olds staring at him with face paints in their hands. Casting a desperate glance at Allie and Pete over his shoulder, he shook his head in defeat. **

"**Tell everyone I died from exhaustion after a weekend with Sienna Miller," he sighed before pegging it through the hallway towards the garden, Dave hot on his tail as the mass of little girls ran screaming after them. **

"**Didn't you lot used to lead a notorious firm?" Allie frowned at Pete who grinned and scratched the back of his head. **

"**They never had face paint and body glitter," he told her, watching as she threw her head back and laughed loudly. **

"**Charlie," he blurted out suddenly, and after a collecting herself, Allie looked at him strangely. **

"**What?"**

"**Charlie," he nodded slowly to himself. "What'd you reckon?"**

"**Charlie Dunham?" she smiled. "I like it,"**

"**It's worth thinking about," Pete grinned, slinging his arm around her shoulders and walking out into the garden with her. So much had changed in the past eight years, to say Pete Dunham's life had been tipped completely on its arse would be the ultimate understatement but he wouldn't change a second of it for the world. **

**There had been moments, like a few years back shortly before Poppy was born when he had been worried about the lure of his old life coming back to him. After he and the other boys had turned their back on the GSE, a younger generation, the same boys who used to kick the tattered old football against the wall off the Abby every weekend were suddenly the lads who stumbled in and out of the pub every night, each time sporting a new scar or injury had stepped in and taken over; and much like he had with Steve, they had made it their point to learn as much as they could from the Major before them, but if anything, Pete hoped that all they took from his life was the fact that even though it had taken him being brought to the brink of death to realise it, the best decision he had ever made was to walk away from all of it. **

**Feeling Allie squeeze his hand, he looked down at her and smiled, pressing his lips against her forehead and wondering how he ever could have thought he needed anything other than this…other than her. **

**The girl who he had never had a shot with, the girl who had taken him completely, never willing to give up on him even when he gave her every reason to do so, the girl who loved him so completely, who was so open with him, the girl who had made his heart stop with a smile, the girl who had promised to be his forever, who had his children. **

**The girl he swore he would never meet because someone like that could never exist…not for him anyway. **

"**Daddy!" Poppy jumped up into his arms and very nearly knocked him off balance. He held her tightly, laughing as she giggled in his ear, whispering to him about what she and her friends had done to Swill and Dave. Looking up over her mass of blonde curls, he saw all of his best mates lined up, flowers and hearts drawn over their faces. He hoped Poppy didn't catch the hand gesture Bov sent him as he lifted one hand and clicked the camera. As if he would pass up an opportunity like that. **

"**Come on, old lady," Allie tickled her daughters side and laughed as she pulled her in for a hug before wriggling down and running over to the cake. Pete stared at her as she smiled and reached out, cheekily snagging some of the icing and licking it off of her finger. Her bright blue eyes dancing over the crowd of family of friends, finally landing on him and Allie and raising a small hand to wave manically at him as the hoard of people around them began singing happy birthday. **

**He had made that…that perfect, gorgeous looking creature grinning at him from where Steve was propping her up on the chair to make sure she didn't fall. He was responsible for her and it scared him because he didn't think he could ever love anything as much as he loved her. He still remembered the first night that they had brought Poppy home and he and Allie had stood over her crib all night smiling like lunatics down at her, and the tears that had stung his eyes when her chubby little fist had grabbed his finger and he swore to God his heart had stopped. **

"**Hey," **

**He looked down and saw Allie looking up at him, her bright green eyes boring into hers, a small smile playing on her lips as she shook her head lightly and he knew in that second that she was thinking the exact same thing as he was. **

**They weren't sure how they got here, but there was no way that anything could be more amazing than this. **

"**Are you ok?" she whispered, running a hand down his face and smiling when he kissed her palm. **

**Leaning down he kissed her deeply, letting one hand rest on her slightly swollen belly and then casting a glance at Poppy who was grinning at them, her hair falling into her eyes. **

"**Me?" he watched as Allie smiled before pressing a kiss against her forehead. "I've never been better…"**


	42. A note on Intervals

**Hey guys, **

**don't worry my OCD hasn't kicked in that badly that i'm forgetting which stories i've finished and which i haven't but i thought i'd let you know as for whatever reason its not showing up on the main page that if you liked my last story, I've written an accompanying piece called Intervals which you can read by clicking on my author home page. **

**Enjoy!**


	43. IMPORTANT AUTHORS NOTE

So its happened again.

This story which I have been working on since 2006 has ended up on a One Direction fan forum as some bastardizatio, n of my work.

To say I'm furious would be an understatement, the author is refusing to take it down so my publishers are dealing with it now albeit very slowly.

If you see my story appearing on any other sites, please let me know.

And feel free to go and read it for yourself, its on One Direction and is called Light Up The Dark "by" an author called Bessie although at least this girl had the grace to openly admit the work wasn't hers.

Thanks for all your support,

love always,

El x


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